Omar Ali Finishes 19th in Asian Games Triathlon
Bahrain’s Omar Ali improved on his previous Asian Games finish by placing 19th in the men’s individual triathlon final at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, yesterday.
The Bahraini completed the sprint-distance race at Gamagori City Triathlon Venue in 56 minutes 50 seconds, finishing inside the top 20 of a 33-strong field representing 20 nations.
He emerged from the opening 750-metre swim in 19th position after clocking 9:42 and completed the first transition in 40 seconds.
A time of 29:26 over the 20-kilometre cycling leg saw Ali enter the second transition in 22nd, but his strongest section was still to come.
He completed the five-kilometre run in 16:42, the 12th-fastest time of the field, to overtake three competitors and climb back to 19th overall.
Japan’s Takumi Hojo claimed gold on home soil in 52:56, finishing nine seconds ahead of China’s Zhang Xirui. Kazakhstan’s Arlan Zhanabay secured bronze in 53:11, while Ali crossed the line three minutes and 54 seconds behind the winner.
The result bettered his Asian Games debut in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, in 2018, when the then-teenager placed 22nd among 34 competitors.
On that occasion, he completed a longer course comprising a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run in two hours, five minutes and 28 seconds. Yesterday’s race was held over exactly half those distances, meaning the two finishing times cannot be directly compared.
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