Qatar Team Wins Silver Medalsin 2008 World Endurance Championship
Second Place Finish MarksQatar's Rapid Rise in Endurance Riding
Terengganu, Malaysia - A jubilant Qatar team proudly took to the podium on Sunday as they receivedmedals and a trophy for their second-place team finish in theWorld Endurance Championshipheld in Terengganu, Malaysia on Friday and Saturday, November 7 & 8.
Despite overnight rainstorms and periodic lightning, notthe weather or the 160 kmcourse couldstop the Qatar Endurance Team as they posted their best finish ever in the competition with a second behind the winning United Arab Emirates team. The final team times wereUAE,27:57:59 and Qatar, 28:47:17. Bahrain took third with a time of 30:54:22 to Portugal's 30:58:52.
The championship consisted of22 teams and 140 riders that competed overnight in thefirst-everWorld Endurance Championships to be contested in the dark.
The six-member Qatar team is made up of riders thatannually compete for Al Shaqab, a member of the Qatar Foundation.Scoring for the Qatar team was headed by veteran Mohammed Atta Beer who paced the group with a time of 9:34:38 to finish 11th overall. He was followed by Faleh Nasser Abugnaim,9:34:39 in 12thand Mohammed Sultan Al Suwaidi, 9:38:00 in 13th. Team members that were eliminated from competition during the gruelling event included Abulla Towaim Al Marri, Khalid Sanad Al Nuaimi and Mohammed Tahous Al Nuaimi.