Sunday 14 / December / 2025
Muscat – Oman Sail’s Women’s Sailing Team have won three medals at the 2nd Arab Women’s Sailing Championship held at the Kuwaiti Maritime Sports Club in Kuwait from 2-5 December 2025. The five-strong team competed in Optimist, ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 categories against 37 female sailors from nine nations, including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, the UAE, Sudan and hosts Kuwait.
Building upon the achievements at last year’s inaugural Arab Women's Sailing Championship in Bahrain, where Hadeel Al Mushaifri won a bronze medal in the Optimist class, Tarteel Al Hasni won silver in the Optimist category after a strong performance throughout the event.
She showed solid tactical awareness and the ability to adjust to changing conditions against a strong fleet of sailors. Malak Al Dosari of Bahrain took the gold while Laila Diaa of Egypt won bronze. Abeer Al Zakwani from Oman finished in fourth and Layan Al Ruzaiqi finished seventh.
Hadeel Al Mushifri finished third in the ILCA 4 event to take the bronze medal. Karma Walid of Egypt won the gold with an excellent display, while Marwa Al Hammadi from the UAE took the silver.
Ibtisam Al Salmi won bronze in the ILCA 6 competition, finishing just behind Duha Al Bashar of the UAE in second and Amina Shah from Kuwait to claimed gold for the host nation. She sailed well and demonstrated significant progress over the past year which bodes well for future events.
Ibtisam Al Salmi expressed her pride and happiness at winning the bronze medal in the ILCA 6 class, noting that “the achievement holds great personal meaning as it marks an exceptional end to a year of hard work and intensive training. She added that “returning to the podium after years away from the ILCA to compete in larger classes makes this moment even more meaningful”.
Al Salmi explained that the competition was far from easy, with several highly experienced sailors in the fleet. She highlighted that “the biggest challenges were shifting winds and the demanding schedule of up to four races a day, each lasting 45 minutes”.
Looking ahead, Al Salmi said, “I aim to compete strongly in upcoming Arab and Asian championships, with a focus on international camps and events”. She encouraged young women to try sailing, describing it as “an exciting and rewarding sport full of challenge, passion, and endless opportunities for growth and learning”.
The team was coached by Sultan Al Zadjali, Head Coach of the Optimist Team, and Ahmed Al Wahaibi, Head Coach of the ILCA Team, and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth.
Abdul Aziz Salim Al Shidi, Oman Sail’s Acting Director of Sailing, said, “This event signalled great progress for our Women’s Sailing Team and an opportunity to build on the achievement. We are all very proud of our sailors for representing Oman at this level and bringing medals home to our nation. The team demonstrated great determination and a high level of ability to compete against their peers from across the region. We go into the next series of regattas confident that we can continue to perform well and claim more honours for Oman.”
The Oman Sail Women's Sailing programme is a powerful example of how a sports initiative can be strategically aligned with the national development goals outlined in Oman Vision 2040. Oman Sail has been a pioneer in women’s sailing within the region since launching the first all-female team in 2012. The following year, Raiya Al Habsi made history by becoming the first Arab woman to be nominated for the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award after competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race onboard the victorious MOD70 Oman Air-Musandam.
By ensuring sailing offers equal opportunities, the programme serves as a high-impact catalyst for social change, and contributes significantly to multiple pillars of the Vision, moving beyond sports to impact social, economic, and human capital development for the long-term benefit of the nation.
The 2nd Arab Women’s Sailing Championship was organised by the Sailing, Rowing and Kayaking Committee of the Kuwaiti Marine Sports Club and supervised by an international panel of referees from Morocco, Algeria, Italy, Poland, France, and Russia. Dr Malav Shroff OLY, President of the Asian Sailing Federation, congratulated the winners and praised Kuwait for organising a smooth and successful event.
