Larsen and Borsheim at the top in Dubai Fitness Championships

Inger Larsen and Hallvard Borsheim pulled themselves to the top of standings in the women’s and men’s categories at the end of the third week of qualifiers for the 2nd Dubai Fitness Championships being held at Fitness First Dubai.

Larsen has the best time of 13:43.59 minutes in the women’s section, while Borsheim is at the top of the men’s in a time of 11:22.94 minutes.

However, Larsen is being closely tagged by Joanne Thorpe in a competitive time of 13:43.66 while Fiona Hanel is currently in third with a time of 13:53.37.

Another three women have managed to complete the course to occupy the next three spots in the qualifying, namely Hayley Fisher (14:04.38), Rania Lashin (14:49.41) and Karina Bensemann (14:52.25).

In the men’s category, Norway’s Borsheim is being followed by Darryn Whitsitt with a time of 11:46.91 while last week’s leader Justin Ahrens from the USA – who had been the first man to clock a sub-12 minutes time – is in third with 11:59.78.

The top three are being followed by the UAE duo of Khalifa Al Qubaisi and Marwan Al Marri with times of 12:06.40 and 12:11.22 respectively.

The UAE’s Marwan Al Marri was sitting at the top of the standings at the end of the opening week of qualifiers with his time of 12:11.22 minutes followed by Borsheim and the UAE’s Faisal Al Marzouqi’s 12:53.18.

Among Emirati participants, Faisal Al Marzouqi is doing well in tenth overall, followed by Khalid Al Jarallal in 12th, Saud Saif Al Shamsi in 16th and Mohammad Al Ketbi in 17th for a possible place in the final list of 36.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the championship is aimed at raising the awareness on the importance of exercise and health, while promoting fitness among UAE residents, especially among Emiratis.

The qualifying rounds of the championship will continue till September 8, leading up to the finals scheduled to be held at a specially set-up circuit on the Dubai Ice Rink at The Dubai Mall from September 12 to 14.

This year, the number of qualifiers for the finals will be 36 each in the men and women categories with the winners in each category walking away with Dh200,000 from the total prize fund of nearly Dh1 million.

Telephone operator du is the main sponsor while Dubai Sports Council is the official partner of the event. Registration can be done at dxbfitness.com and residents will be charged Dh80 every time they opt to participate in the qualifying.

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