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3/4/24, 8:36 AM Hamdan Bin Mohammed Attends Trailblazing Dubai Jet Suit Championship – Dubai Blog
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Attends Trailblazing Dubai

Jet Suit Championship

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and
Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, attended key stages of the race during the Dubai Jet Suit
Championship, the first event of its kind anywhere in the world, which was held at Dubai Harbourtoday.

Organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and Gravity Industries, the pioneer in promoting the sport of
air racing, the event was held in cooperation with the Skydive Dubai Club and XDubai.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan met with champion Emirati air racer Ahmed Al Shehhiand Richard Browning,
Founder and CEO of Gravity Industries, before the start of the competition, and praised all the participants
participating in the novel competition for having made history.
The stirring contest saw the British trio of Issa Calvon, Paul Jones and Freddie Hay making a sweep of the
top three spots. The winners were crowned by His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai
Sports Council;and Nasser Jamal, representative of Imtiaz Real EstateDevelopment Company, one of the
sponsors of the tournament, in the presence of NasserAman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of
DSC.

Issa Calvon won the title following the daredevil manoeuvres of the eight contestants that amazed the
thousands of fans who had gathered alongside visitors to the Dubai International Yacht Show, besides
millions of viewers on international television networks following the awesome spectacle of competitors
zooming through the air using specially designed suitspropelled by jet engines aligned on the hands and
backs of the contestants.

The contestants representedvarious countries, including the UAE’s young gun Ahmed Al Shehhi, who had
undergone several weeks of specialised training in Great Britain to meet stringent eligibilitycriteria set for
those participating in the competition.

HE Harebcongratulated the winner, noting that the innovative championship had further enhanced Dubai’s
position on the global sportingscene whilecreating history.He also congratulated Al Shehhi, who etched his
name in the record booksas the first Emirati and Arab sportsperson to achieve the unique feat of
participatingin the contestthat demands physical strength, supreme aerial agility, and tremendous adeptness
with cutting-edge technology.

HE Hareb also congratulated all the other participants who had staked claim to be pioneers of a sport
requiring courage and skill of a high order alongside the real-time synchronisationof human capabilities and
technological innovations.

The eight participants were divided into two groups for the preliminary rounds. Each contestant had to
manoeuvrethrough 12 traffic points placed along a 700-metre long race course. The best two from each
group made it to the semi-finals. The champion was declared following a breathtaking final matchup.

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