Under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, the IRONMAN 70.3 Middle East Bahrain will kick-off on Saturday, featuring 2000 athletes worldwide at Bahrain Bay. 
 

On this occasion, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, extended his sincerest thanks and appreciation to HRH the Crown Prince for his generous patronage of the championship, stressing HRH's keenness to support sports in general and triathlon in particular. 
 
His Highness Shaikh Nasser affirmed that HRH the Crown Prince's backing would have a great impact on the triathlon sport in the Kingdom of Bahrain which has achieved tremendous results in the bright era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, explaining that the IRONMAN 70.3 Middle East Championship Bahrain represents a new milestone for this sport as the Kingdom has become a new destination for triathlon activities. Meanwhile, His Highness Shaikh Nasser said that he is ready to compete and would seek to achieve positive results in all the three races of the event, including the swimming, cycling and running. 
 
"I am ready to take this new challenge and will do my best to achieve advanced positions in the championship," His Highness Shaikh Nasser said while acknowledging the obstacles ahead of him in the event, given the long roster of the internationally-recognised athletes who are taking part in the event. "Bahrain Triathlon Team has been training very well in the past period for the Championship and our team members are ready to compete in this event and record positive results," His Highness Shaikh Nasser underlined. 
 
HH Shaikh Nasser expressed his best wishes for all the participants in the event, pointing out that Bahrain has become the Home of the Triathlon Sport in the Middle East. Finally, His Highness Shaikh Nasser thanked all the Ministries, Companies and Organisations that collaborated with the Organising Committee in organising the event. 
 
 
Nasser bin Hamad Witnesses IRONKIDS
 
His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa witnessed the IRONKIDS competitions which was held on the sidelines of the event. Featuring in the event were His Highness Shaikh Nasser's children; HH Shaikha Sheema, HH Shaikh Hamad and HH Shaikh Mohammed, all of whom have successfully completed the races of the event. At the end of the competition, HH Shaikh Nasser rewarded the participants who completed the race, praising the performances featured in the IRONKIDS. 
 
 
The Route of the Event
 
 
The Organising Committee had earlier announced the approval of the three-stage route of the championship. Swimming competition will be held in Bahrain Bay for a distance of 1.9 km, the cycling competition for 90 km, ending with a running race of 21.1 km. The track of the three competitions will pass by the urban, developmental and heritage sites in the Kingdom to introduce participants to Bahrain’s growth, which is one of the objectives of the IRONMAN Championships. 
 
 
Complete Traffic Plan
 
 
The General Directorate of Traffic at the Ministry of  Interior has developed a distinctive plan to secure the Championship.  Director of Operations and Traffic Control at the General Directorate of Traffic Lietenant-Colonel Adel Ibrahim Al Dossari said that the General Directorate of Traffic is keen to implement the directives of HE Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Interior Minister to ensure safe movement of the race. 
 
 
Bahrain Triathlon Team Ready
 
Furthermore, Bahrain Triathlon Team expressed its readiness to participate in the IRONMAN 70.3 Middle East Championship under the leadership of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad. The Bahraini team, and in particular His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, hopes to secure a podium finish in the race. His Highness Shaikh Nasser will be the most prominent candidate for the first place after the great positive results and continuous achievements established by His Highness in previous championships.