My 2013 Report

2013 was a very good year. I made big advances, both in terms of physical performance and growing exposure.

I started the year with 4th at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, racing the great Alistair Brownlee and Alexander Bruhykankov. Shortly after this I went on to become the Arab Champion at the first Arab Championships and this set my season up very well.

The main aim of the season was to qualify for the 5150 World Championships in Des Moines, USA – a change of focus from my usual ITU drafting racing. This required a lot of work on the bike and a change of race strategy. I coped well with this change and recorded top-10 finishes in all qualifying races and qualified for the World Champs. Unfortunately, the World Championships itself was spoiled by a number of problems including a puncture and crash on the bike.

I also competed in my first World Triathlon Series event – the ITU WTS Grand Final in London. This was the pinnacle of my career, racing on the same course as the Olympics the year before and finishing in a respectable 51st position, beating many of the top British athletes. My season was finished with some strong ITU performances in Asia to regain my world ranking in anticipation of my pending Olympic qualification cycle, which would start in mid-2014.

Away from purely performance, my long term goal of increasing awareness of triathlon in the Middle East was kicked off by my win at the Arab Champs in Egypt, becoming known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’! After this race, I gained a lot of Arab fans and also started working with an Arab representative to try to set up more activities that would promote the sport more in the region, such as coaching and appearances in local races around the Middle East.

Top Results of 2013:

· Gold at Arab Championships in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

· 4th Abu Dhabi International Triathlon – Short course (Racing Alistair Brownlee)

· 6th Singapore ITU Asian Cup

· 2nd at Nouatre International Triathlon, France, beating many notables such as Stephane Poulat, Stephane Bignet, Yohan Vincent and Anton Chuchko.

· 5th Klagenfurt 5150 Triathlon, Austria.

Ranking

ITU World Ranking 1st December 2013: 149

Asian Ranking from Asian Championships 2013: 11

Objectives for 2014:

· To medal at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon

· To win a medal in the Asian Games Triathlon

· Regain my Arab Champion title

· To continue competing in the World Triathlon Series

· Podium in an ITU Continental Cup race

· At least one top-10 ITU World Cup result

· Promotion to Division 1 in French Grand Prix

My long term objectives remain:

· Qualify for Rio 2016 Olympic Games

· To win Pan-Arab Games in 2015

· To attain ranking of at least top-75 in ITU Ranking by the end of 2014

· To attain ranking of at least top-50 in ITU Ranking by the end of 2015

· To promote and develop triathlon more in Jordan and the Middle East

· To help form a Jordanian Team to compete in the new Team Triathlon format.