Swimmers in action on the opening day of the FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019 at the Hamad Aquatic Centre yesterday. Picture: Twitter / @SWCDOHA
Many young Qatari swimmers took part in yesterday morning’s heats, producing quick times as they swam alongside the elite swimmers.
GCC champion Abdulaziz Al Obaidly was the fastest home swimmer in the men’s 100m breaststroke heats, won by Dutchman Arno Kamminga (59.40).
The 17-year-old clocked 1:06.23 while his team-mates Abdelrahman Mohamed (1:12.65), Omar Ashraf (1:16.37) and Abdulla AlKhaldi (1:17.18), also recorded creditable times but did not advance.
Yacob Al Khulaifi (4:18.59) registered the best time among Qatari athletes at men’s 400m freestyle in which Mohammed Fawad Hasan (4:26.79), Ahmad Samara (4:40.79) and Ali Abdulla Al Nuami (4:51.11) also participated.
In men’s 100m butterfly heats, Qatar’s Mohamed Mahmoud (58.14), Tameea Elhamayda (1:01.42) and M Al Khanji (1:08.78) were impressive alongside the elite swimmers including Le Clos and America’s Andrew.
