Abu Dhabi wins bid to host 2022 ITU Grand Final in world first

Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Chairman of the General Authority for Sports and Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, has hailed the country’s successful bid to host the 2022 ITU Grand Final.

Commenting on the announcement of the successful bid, Al Rumaithi said, "We are thankful for the sport’s governing body and the participating nations for the faith they have shown to stage the 2022 ITU Grand Final in Abu Dhabi.

"On our part, we will leave no stones unturned to make this event a most memorable one for the athletes and the fans, which has always been our intentions as one of the leading venues in the world for international sporting events. We will be hosting the fifth edition of the ITU World Triathlon in March and the success of the previous staging of this event has been one of the reasons for us to be successful in the bid to host the Grand Final. Needless to say Abu Dhabi is established offering world class sporting facilities and hosting world class events. But we are very happy to add another to this growing list of World class events."

"Triathlon is a sport we want to promote among the country’s youth and staging the Grand Final will definitely help. We want to create an awareness of the sport and encourage our youth as well as to encourage participation from all communities in the country," he continued.

Abu Dhabi was awarded the 2022 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, following an announcement by the International Triathlon Union, ITU, Executive Board at its annual Congress in Australia.

It is expected that the Grand Final will welcome more than 5,000 international triathletes as well as some 2,500 local triathletes over a five-day triathlon festival. The Grand Final is the pinnacle of the global triathlon season, with World Champions being named across both elite and amateur categories as a result.

With the ITU World Triathlon season-opening race already a firm fixture in the regular sporting calendar, the winning bid for the sport event further bolsters Abu Dhabi’s global status in the triathlon world.

From 2010 to 2014, Abu Dhabi hosted five editions of Abu Dhabi International Triathlon – an all-inclusive race, welcoming an impressive range of elite, amateur and junior triathletes.

In 2014, as agreement was signed between the ITU, Abu Dhabi Sports Council and WORLDSPORT Arabia, resulting in the season-opening race of the ITU World Triathlon being held annually in the UAE’s capital. The inaugural ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi took place in March 2015 on Abu Dhabi’s corniche.

As a Grand Final host city, Abu Dhabi will also stage the ITU's annual Congress in 2022, which takes place in the days leading up to the race.