Y Tabloid - Issue 88 - September 15, 2009 - Y-oman.com

Oh man HE’S GOOD!Oman’s very own speed-freak Ahmad Saidal Harthy has managed to secure himselffifth and sixth position in the 10 th and11 th rounds (respectively) of the FormulaRenault BARC Championship in the UK.The 3.12km Rockingham InternationalCircuit consists of 12 fast turns wherecars can hit a top speed of 220km/h.Commenting on the positions, Al Harthysaid: “Today was very tricky in qualifying,Rockingham is a long circuit and we had very strong gusts of wind which made drivingthe car through the very fast corners unpredictable. I still managed to go faster than Ihave ever been, I believe we are in a strong position for both races tomorrow.”Saudi Team beats Oman,but not without a fightThe Omani juniorfootball squadsuffered defeat atthe hands of SaudiArabia in the AGCCUnder-17 FootballChampionship,played in theUnited Arab Emirates on September 7 th . The Omani Under-17 ‘Boys inRed’ team put up a good fight against their Saudi competitors but couldnot even the score, losing by a solitary goal. Despite the defeat, theOmani team finished the game smiling and accepted the outcome withtrue sportsmanship.Not Russian to LondonRussian-born-American-gymnastand Olympic champion, NastiaLiukin, has chosen not to competeat the world championships takingplace in London next month. Liukinfeels she needs time to regain herform before she is ready to competeagain. “Getting back into the gymand competition has been a majorgoal for me this summer, and I haveworked hard to balance my trainingand obligations. This year has beenwonderful and a whirlwind. With theselection process beginning nextweek, I realised I needed to takesome time to get myself where I needand want to be competitively. The 2012 Olympics in London remainan important goal for me. I have more to accomplish in this sport,”Liukin said.For Peat’s SakeBritain’s Steve Peat, finally breaks the mould by taking gold at theWorld Downhill Mountain Bike title in Canberra, along with four silvermedals in the event. The 35-year-old finished in two minutes 30.33seconds, barely 0.05 seconds ahead of competitor Greg Minnaar. Peatcommented on the tight contest by saying, “I have had such bad luckat the World Championships but today I had an awesome run. I’m theoldest guy out there and I’ve been trying for a long time with a lot ofsecond places, but I felt strong coming into this race. It was prettyemotional putting the jersey on, on the podium knowing I could wearit as World Champion for the next year, I’ve been trying for a long timeand it’s just an unreal feeling.”37