The 15th Fina World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi 2021 has set a new benchmark, highlighting the UAE's status as a premier sporting destination once again.
The week-long championships at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island drew 1,100 competitors from 183 countries vying for 46 world titles and a prize fund of $3.2million - the highest in the history of Fina.
The event saw several new championships records established, including four world records, making it a truly memorable championships.
Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey started things off by clinching women’s 200m freestyle gold in a world record time of one minute 50.31 seconds, while Sweden equalled the 4x50m medley relay world record set by USA in the event’s previous edition.
Canadian Margaret MacNeil smashed the women’s 50m backstroke record before Florian Wellbrock broke the men’s 1,500m record on the final day of the event. The record holders had more reasons to celebrate in the form of $50,000 bonuses for their efforts.
As Fina president Husain Al Musallam aptly put it, performances in the pool and the championships' organisational excellence have raised the bar.
“Abu Dhabi has laid a new benchmark in every sphere from the organising of the championships and coordination, and particularly in the handling of the Covid protocols,” Al Musallam said at the closing ceremony.
“I expect the 19th Fina World Championships (long course) in Fukuoka in May will not be less than Abu Dhabi, not only in terms of the facilities but the numbers, coordination and Covid protocols in place.
“The success in Abu Dhabi is the athletes competed, they achieved results, received fabulous prize money and were offered fantastic facilities. This is what I expect from Fukuoka.”
The competition in Abu Dhabi was not just confined to the purpose-built pool but also extended to the aquatic festival that included the Fina High Board Diving World Qualifier and the Fina Marathon World Cup, held across seven days.
‘‘Over the last week, Abu Dhabi has been at the centre of the swimming global sphere, not only with the excitement in the swimming pool, but also across high-diving and open water swimming,” Aref Al Awani, general secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said.
‘‘The championships was broadcast to a global TV audience across 133 countries, including CCTV in China, NBC in North America, Super Sports across Africa and our host broadcasters, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel.
“During an exhilarating week of world-class sporting competition, we witnessed four world records being broken, with a total of 46 crowned world champions.”
According to Al Musallam, the Abu Dhabi edition of the world swimming championships was one of the finest in the event’s history for many reasons.
“This week, the world’s most talented swimmers lined up on the world stage to display their talent and abilities to thousands of spectators inside the Etihad Arena and, of course, to millions of TV viewers around the world,” he said.
“This led to plenty of thrilling action in the pool with four world records being broken, making the 15th edition of the event among the finest in the event’s history.
‘‘This shows that our sport is going in the right direction as more people around the world aspire to be the next world champion.
“Whether the athletes have won a medal or not, we believe every swimmer who has competed this week is indeed a winner.
“We understand travelling and participating in these challenging times is not easy, but I would like to express my gratitude to them for being here in Abu Dhabi and helping make this edition a resounding success.’’
Haughey said she and her nation can look back at the Abu Dhabi edition with great pride.
“It was amazing to know that I was the first person from Hong Kong to win a world championship and break a world record,” she added.
“I’m sure in the future there will be a lot of up-and-coming swimmers who can achieve the same thing too.
“Since day one, when I broke the world record, the Hong Kong, China team has been doing really well and made a lot of finals and it’s been a great week for the whole country.”
Aidan Heslop was among the winners at the Fina High Diving Qualifier, executing one of the hardest dives ever attempted to triumph in the final round of the men’s event.
The Briton, 19, who received sevens from the judges to secure a winning score of 436.90 points. And that summed up the level of the Abu Dhabi championships.
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- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
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HOW TO WATCH
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Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
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The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
'Panga'
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Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
