National team cyclist Ahmed Al Mansouri confirmed that qualifying for the next Olympic Games (Los Angeles 2028) has become an important and inevitable requirement, not an ambition, and that more than one Emirati cyclist is capable of qualifying, especially after the achievements made in the past period.
Al-Mansouri was close to officially qualifying for the Paris Olympics, as he continued his attempts to collect points until the last meters, before losing a number of points that cost him not to advance.
Emirati cycling has witnessed a boom in terms of results and performances in the past two years, resulting in Safia Al Sayegh qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics as the first Emirati woman to officially reach the Olympics in cycling. Abdullah Jassim also succeeded in winning the gold medal as the Asian champion under 23 years old, while Mohammed Al Mutaiwee won second place, in addition to occupying seventh place globally in the individual pursuit ranking on the track.
Ahmed Al Mansouri told Al-Emarat Al-Youm: “Olympic qualification has become a major requirement and not just an ambition. We will start preparing now. I consider the Asian Track and Field Championship in Thailand, which will start the day after tomorrow, to be the beginning of good preparation and a long journey that will continue until the beginning of 2027, and in which we will begin collecting points for the official qualification for the 2028 Olympics.”
He added: “The Asian Track Championship is a first step, and the goal of participation is to achieve positive results and compete for new Asian medals to add to our national team’s record. The National Teams Committee is studying all participations that will have a major factor in raising the level of cyclists.”
He continued: “We can qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics with more than one cyclist in the road and track categories, and this is what we are currently looking for, and what the federation’s national teams committee is striving for. We still have four years before the start of this major Olympic event.”
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