Nine Omani athletes get Olympic grants to compete at Paris 2024 games

Muscat: Nine athletes from Oman have been provided grants to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the first-ever to so many athletes in the country, the Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) has announced.

The support for the nine athletes was made possible, thanks to the opportunities available through international Olympic solidarity programmes for national Olympic committees.

Under this scheme, the Oman Olympic Committee  has succeeded in obtaining support to prepare more Omani athletes across four sports included in Olympic events: Shooting, swimming, athletics and weightlifting.

The nine athletes include Al Anoud Al Khalili from the Oman Shooting Association, Abdul Rahman Al Kulaibi and Issa Al Adawi (both Oman Swimming Federation), weightlifter Amer Al Khanjari from the Oman Weightlifting and Physical Strength Committee and five players from the Oman Athletics Association: Mubeen Al Kindi, Ali Al Balushi, Hussein Al Farsi, Muhammad Al Sulaimani and Fateh Beit Ja’Boub.

“The grants provided by the solidarity programme aim to assist athletes who are selected by National Olympic Committees and proposed in the stages of preparation and qualification for the 33rd  Olympic Games in France,” said the Oman Olympic Committee.

“This programme allows them to obtain NOCs for financial and technical support for high-level athletes who are seeking to qualify for the Olympic Games.”

This is for the first time nine preparation grants have been conferred upon Omani athletes: Previously, the International Olympic Committee would usually grant support to only five athletes from countries that have sent less than 70 athletes to the five previous versions of the Olympic Games.