“We are all optimistic and well-focused on reaching our target. Every one of us has put in a lot of effort and dedication to make this happen,” said Dr Jamal Rashid al-Khanji, one of the seven Qatari professional and amateur athletes who will be joining the attempt.
Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali
The 45-year-old physician, entrepreneur and adventurer started his career as a cardiac surgeon and senior healthcare executive.
He is now dedicated to running several private businesses in the fields of healthcare services, healthcare consulting and extreme sports.“It’s inspiring to see a group of non-professional athletes attempt something like this, even amid their busy schedules and in an area which they were not necessarily familiar with few months ago,” Dr al-Khanji said.
The Channel swim, known as ‘La Manche’ in French, is considered one of the toughest challenges in the world, with only 1,484 individual swimmers and 757 relay teams succeeding in crossing the hazardous waterway in the past 143 years.
The Qatari team’s attempt is expected to last between 18 and 20 hours, covering a distance that exceeds 34km on relay basis.
Dr al-Khanji said their preparations started with a training camp in Doha last January before travelling to Opatija in Croatia for another intensive training camp, swimming for long hours in cold water (10-16C).
The team also had a training camp in the UK, and went through a qualifying swim for the Channel crossing.
The founder of the team, Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali, also administrator at the Ministry of Public Health, pointed out that each member will have equal responsibilities during the swim.
“Each one of us will have to do his job in a specific order or else the attempt will be void,” said the 52-year-old doctor, who is the oldest member of the team.
He is also a former volleyball and basketball player.
He worked as the assistant for policy to HE the Minister of Health for nine years at the Supreme Council of Health (now the Ministry of Public Health).
He oversaw the implementation of the projects in the National Health Strategy 2011-2016.
“Crossing the Channel is one of the ultimate challenges a human can undertake, finishing it puts one’s name on an elite list of individuals from across the globe and being a member of the first Qatari team to achieve it will be a great honour,” Dr Ali noted.
He also reiterated the team’s aim in doing the attempt: to highlight the importance of sports and healthy lifestyle to their community, both children and adults.
Dr Ali’s advice to Qatar’s youth: “Our country invested a lot in building world-class sports infrastructure, you have much more opportunities to go ahead and practice any kind of sport you like, make exercising an integral part of your lives.
“Never fear failure. Failures are like bricks, and it is your choice to either carry them on your back to slow yourself down or use them to build your stairs up to success.”
