Al-Musannah Welcomes the World for Inaugural Para Sailing Championships

Al-Musannah: The Sultanate of Oman is witnessing intense competition at the inaugural 2025 World Para Sailing Championships, currently taking place in the Wilayat of Al-Musannah from 4 to 8 December. The event is organized by the Al-Musannah Sailing School with broad international participation from sailors representing various countries.

The championship is the largest global event of its kind, dedicated to empowering and integrating athletes with disabilities into top-level international sailing. The races officially began following a three-day training and development program organized by the International Sailing Federation, which provided essential preparation for coaches, sailors, and race officials.

The opening day featured strong contests in four internationally accredited boat classes:

• RS Venture (Paralympic-classified teams)

• Far East (blind sailing category)

• Hansa 303 (open category)

• ILCA 6 (Special Olympics category for athletes with intellectual disabilities)

Participants displayed a high level of technical skill, competing under ideal sailing conditions with wind speeds reaching around 7 knots.

In the RS Venture class, the Norwegian team of Henriette Smith and Solfried Lindheim Qvensland topped the overall standings, followed by the Polish duo Piotr Cichocki and Olga Gornas Grodzin in second place. Another Norwegian team, Stian Kristiansen and Elliott Finnstrand, secured third place.

In the Hansa 303 class, British sailor Rory McKenna finished first, followed by Japan’s Takumi Niwa in second and Portugal’s João Pinto in third.
Omani sailor Malik Al Qurtubi placed tenth overall, while teammate Ali Al Ghassini ranked fourteenth.

In the ILCA 6 Special Olympics class, Britain’s Murray MacDonald claimed first place, with Man Hong Leung of Hong Kong finishing second and his compatriot Tsz Hin Cheung taking third.

The Far East blind sailing category saw British dominance, led by sailor Lucy Hodges, whose team secured the top spot. The team led by Karl Heinz placed second, while Vicky Sheen’s team finished third after a series of tightly contested races.

Oman is represented in the championship by several sailors trained through the Sail Free program, which has achieved notable success in qualifying and empowering athletes with disabilities. Among them is sailor Zaher Al-Atbi, competing in the RS Venture class.