A historic attempt to cross the English Channel by a team of seven Qatari athletes portrays the country’s strength and resilience of its people amid the ongoing blockade, ‘Team Qatar Channel Swim’ member Dr Mohamed al-Kuwari has said.
“One of the most important points that we are trying to stress is that we are a strong nation,” he told reporters at a press conference.
Describing the unjust blockade as “the strongest test the nation has ever faced,” Dr al-Kuwari stressed that such challenges failed to dampen the spirit of Qatar’s people.
The other members of the team include Dr Faleh Mohamed Ali, Dr Jamal Rashid al-Khanji, Dr Khalid al-Jalham, professor Nasser al-Mohannadi, Fahad al-Buenain and Talal al-Emadi.
“We find our way and we get tested in so many ways and I think the blockade is the strongest test the nation has ever faced,” said Dr al-Kuwari, a 38 year-old experienced general surgeon and bariatric surgery specialist. He is also the head of Qatar Cycling and Triathlon Federation.
The attempt, which will take place between July 20 and 27, is expected to last for a period of 18 to 20 hours as the seven swimmers cover a distance that exceeds 34kms on relay basis.
The English Channel, known in the Arab world as “El Manche”, a derivation of its French name “La Manche”, is a waterway between England and France connecting the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. Around 560km-long, it is considered to be the world’s busiest waterway.
Apart from the more than 600 vessels and 200 ferries crossing the canal daily, swimmers will also face many dangers in their attempt such dealing with low water temperatures (14 to18 degrees Celsius), strong tides, cold wind, waves, oil slicks, jelly fish, fog and possible rain or lightning.
In short, the channel swim can be considered the Mount Everest of open water swimming.
Dr al-Khanji, a surgeon, an entrepreneur and an expert in spearfishing, said such difficulties of the mission and possible hazards will not stop him from pursuing their goal.
“I am always excited about extremely difficult challenges. Things that can push me to the limit. I love to explore my capabilities and put myself to the test especially with ultra-long, ultra-difficult conditions,” he pointed out.
“I feel that such events make us appreciate life more and push us out of our comfort zone. They also prepare us for the unknown,” said the surgeon, who is also a co-founder of Qatar Cyclists Centre and currently the managing director of Al Adaid Desert Challenge, an annual UCI cross country cycling event.
Dr Ali, who graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1993, stressed that “to be among the most dedicated adventure athletes in Qatar is an honour and a privilege.”
A diving and undersea macro-photography enthusiast, he advised the youth not to think of failure saying that “failures are like bricks, it’s your choice to either carry them on your back to slow you down or use them to build your stairs to success.” “That’s my own quote to motivate myself.”
