Sheikh Hamdan leads F3 teams to Gov Games wins

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Sheikh Hamdan leads F3 teams to Gov Games wins

Dubai - Twelve teams had qualified for the finale that was touted to be the toughest obstacle the Gov Games has ever seen.

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A Staff Reporter

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Published: Sun 7 Apr 2019, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Sun 7 Apr 2019, 2:42 PM

Spectators thronged the Kite Beach on Saturday to watch government teams battle it out on the final day of Gov Games 2.0. And amid cheers and high fives all around, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, reinforced his image as the champion of fitness as his F3 team won the ultimate prize in both female and male categories.
The Dh3 million Gov Games prize pool is split with men's and women's winners receiving Dh1 million each. Second and third-placed men's and women's teams received Dh300,000 and Dh200,000, each, respectively.
The F3 teams beat other government departments like the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), Ministry of Education, Abu Dhabi Police, Dubai Police, Fujairah Police, Dubai Municipality, Dubai State Security Apparatus and Dubai Airports.
Twelve teams had qualified for the finale that was touted to be the toughest obstacle the Gov Games has ever seen. Called the 'Battleship', participants had to cross four-metre ninja walls, then make their way across a two-metre-long acrylic tube filled with water, swing on a T-bar and launch themselves onto a net, which is on a zip line. They are then taken into the water, which is ice-cold, followed by a stabiliser challenge. After completing that stage, the participants had to hop down to the ground level and complete a puzzle and break cement rocks to get a key.

The general atmosphere around the beach was electric, as the crowds were treated to some fantastic physical manoeuvres. Sheikh Hamdan and his team warmed up on the jogging track around the beach, much to the crowd's delight.
An F3 team fan, Maryam AlShamsi, said: "Of course, F3 was going to win because you could see from the start of the obstacle that they were very determined."
Another F3 team fan in the crowd said: "I can't even imagine completing an obstacle course like this myself. You need a lot of physical and mental strength to do all of the challenges in this obstacle. For example, being wet and trying to solve the stabiliser puzzle - that's difficult!"
A supporter of the Dewa, Humaid, said: "The Dewa team in women's category did well. A lot of the Dewa employees came out to support them. It's not easy to break the cement rocks - you have to have so much strength for it, even though you used up most of it in the previous challenges in the obstacle."
Held under the theme of 'One Team. One Spirit', Gov Games 2019 saw 168 teams vie for the top prize. The games is the ultimate physical and mental challenge for government employees that was launched by Sheikh Hamdan last year.
There were nine obstacles (Aquaphobia, The Human Ladder 2.0, Wipeout, The Trap, The Grinder, Power Drainer, The Weakest Link, Alzheimer, Breathless) for both male and female teams. Each obstacle had to be accomplished within 10 minutes and athletes got an eight-minute break before tackling the next.
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com
 


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