It was today announced that more than 100 UAE Nationals will be taking part in this weekend’s sold out TriYAS by Daman’s ActiveLife, the largest ever turnout of Emirati participants in the event’s history.

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Of the 100 UAE triathletes, 54 are women – yet another record for this popular community triathlon – and the Emiratis join an already cosmopolitan mix of runners, cyclist and swimmers of the 1,500 who will compete this weekend.  

Al Tareq Al Ameri, CEO of Yas Marina Circuit, said: “We are delighted that this fantastic and challenging event is engaging record numbers of Emiratis.

"Yas Marina hosts a wide array of sporting and fitness initiatives in order to inspire and engage the people of the UAE to get more active, and it’s very rewarding to see that our own nationals are setting a fine example to others.”

Yesterday, some of the Emirati team from the Awazen Wellness Centre & Abu Dhabi Tri Club were at the circuit to take part in a tailor-made training session coached by reigning TriYAS Champion and pro-triathlete Olivier Godart.

They were also joined by pro-triathlete Balazs Csoken from Hungary, in town for Friday’s race.

Aysha Ali Bin Khalfan Al Dhahry from the Awazen female team, said: “We wanted to be a part of something that helped the UAE to become a fitter, more active place and to fight obesity and TriYAS is the perfect event to bring us together as colleagues and friends and to train together.

"We have been training for the last couple of months and are confident that we will put in a good performance on Friday”.

Also new for this year is the addition of an elite wave of 12 pro-triathletes who will be flying into the capital this week from around the world, a new KidsTRI with a 150 children aged between 12-16 as well as a female only category.

Dr. Michael Bitzer, CEO of National Health Insurance Company – Daman, said: “The fact that this year’s race is able to attract Emiratis in such large numbers is a great testament to how Daman is actively making a difference in people’s lives in the UAE.

"Supporting events that encourage people to get active in order to improve their lifestyles and health is very important to us and we are very pleased that so many are engaging from our own community.

Supporting events that mobilise the UAE community as a whole to lead a healthy, active lifestyle is one of our key objectives and we are very pleased that so many are engaging with these events.”

TriYAS 2015 is sold out with 1,500 triathletes swim, run and cycle the iconic FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX track but friends and family wanting to lend their support to those taking part can watch for free and gates open at 11:30am with great viewing areas and entertainment for all the family including live music, kids activation zones, climbing walls along with other sporting attractions.