The challenge of racing in a field of 150 sailors from around Europe is set to be trumped next week by a chance to compete against the 52 best Laser Radial sailors in the world for Oman’s young prospect Mansoor Al Mahrouqi when he lines up at the start of the ISAF Youth Worlds Championships in Portugal. A member of Oman Sail’s Omantel National Youth Squad, co-sponsored by Oman Shipping Company, the 15 year-old Al Mahrouqi has had a busy time preparing for this pinnacle event, which is guaranteed to spawn a new breed of Olympic champions of the future.

The 45th edition of the ISAF Youth Worlds will run from July 12th – 19th 2014 with sailors long days of day light, an average breeze of 15 knots and around 30 degrees temperatures. The championship is open to sailors aged under 19, and given that Mansoor was born in 1999, he will be a lot younger than his counterparts, but at the same time, he will be qualified to compete till 2017. In two years time, Oman will host these prestigious championships when Oman Sail welcomes hundreds of young sailors, their coaches and families at Al Mussanah Sports City. By then, Mansoor would have built strong foundations in the Olympic Laser Radial class, armed with the essential knowledge and skill-set.

Mansoor recently took part in the 2014 Laser Radial Youth Europeans in Aarhus, Denmark (June 26th – July 3rd), where 155 young sailors from across Europe competed for honours. He then headed to Tavira on the south coast of Portugal for the training camp to work on tactical and technical skills in the venue prior to the actual contest. For the moment, Al Mahrouqi who will be accompanied in Portugal by his coaches, Abdulaziz Al Shidi and Leonardo Santos, will be focussing on developing his tactics among the world’s best young sailors, learning from their experiences and training to further his own prospects.

“This is an important opportunity for me because I get to put into practice everything I learned from the Europeans and the Training Camp against a group of sailors who will almost certainly be Olympic competitors in the future,” Mansoor said.
“The conditions look to be similar to Oman so hopefully that will help me but it will be a big challenge and a great experience and I’m excited about learning more about competing at the highest level.”

Commenting on the new challenge ahead for Mansour, Haitham Abdullah Al Kharusi, VP Consumer Unit at Omantel said: “Mansoor Al Mahrouqi is one of the rising stars of Oman Sail's Omantel Youth Programme and he has prepared well for this event so we wish him all the very best in his endeavours. It is a privilege to be involved with such talented youngsters and to watch their progress both as athletes and as individuals”.

Co-sponsored by Oman Shipping Company, Oman Sail’s Omantel Youth Programme is designed to drive some inspirational sailing performances among Oman’s young generation. It has become a blueprint for youth sport across the region over the past few years, laying strong grounds for wining a range of team and individual gold medals in GCC Championship events.

Deputy CEO of Oman Shipping Company, Tarik Al Junaidi, said “It gives us great pride to be supporting Mansoor's Laser Radial campaign, and play a pivotal role in propelling the nation’s cream of young sporting talents. Like all the children in the youth programme, he is already a national asset and we look forward to seeing him build on his success and being a part of the exciting foundations that Oman is laying for a prosperous sporting future”.


Italy is the current holder of the Nations Trophy, awarded annually to the top performing nation at the Youth Worlds. Follow Mansoor Al Mahrouqi’s progress at www.isafyouthworlds.com