Arab and African Triathlon Championships Close at Sahl Hasheesh, With Morocco Taking Mixed-Relay Gold
Three days of open-water swimming, cycling and running at Sahl Hasheesh ended on Sunday. Morocco took mixed-relay gold in the Arab championship and silver in the African one, and had already collected 15 medals on day one.
11 October 2026
The Arab and African Triathlon Championships finished at Sahl Hasheesh on Sunday, after racing that began on 9 October, according to the Moroccan news site Maroc24.
Morocco won gold in the mixed relay in the Arab championship and silver in the same event in the African championship, Maroc24 reported. The relay squad was Noura Nouri, Badr Souane, Ghizlane Assou and Jawad Abdelmoula.
In the African aquathlon races, Loujain Ghicha won gold in the younger girls' category, while Abdessamad Hindi and Ziad Bouchikha took bronze, the outlet said. Morocco had already collected 15 medals on the first day of competition — six gold, seven silver and two bronze — across the triathlon and duathlon events.
The programme at Sahl Hasheesh covered three formats, according to Maroc24:
- standard-distance triathlon
- super sprint
- mixed relay
Each combined an open-water swim, a cycling leg and a run, with both elite and youth categories taking part.
Nouri told Morocco's MAP news agency she was happy with the win and that the field was strong, naming South Africa among the experienced teams. Souane said first place in the Arab event and second in the African one was motivation to keep working, and that the Moroccan athletes want the African title next year.
Abdelmalek Jani, president of the UAE triathlon federation, told Sada El-Balad that his country sent only six athletes because several squad members had withdrawn over mid-year exams. He put the championship window at 9 to 12 October and thanked Egypt for hosting. Rosa El-Youssef reported that the closing ceremony was attended by an adviser to the president.
For the coast, the races put Sahl Hasheesh's bay and roads to use as a continental racing venue in the opening weeks of the winter season. What the reports do not give is the full medal table, Egypt's own results, or how many athletes and spectators the three days brought in — the coverage so far comes mainly from the participating teams' own national outlets.