By Paul Osborne

The Dubai Educational Zone has won the second edition of the UAE School Olympic Games ©UAENOCDubai Educational Zone has been crowned champions of the United Arab Emirates School Olympic Games as action came to a close in Dubai's Police Officers Club and Al Wasl Club.

The hosts had led the Games from the get-go, taking an early medal lead in the opening day of action on Thursday (May 22).

This lead continued in the second and third day as Dubai finished with 46 medals to claim the title, 21 medals clear of their closest rivals, with nine golds, 16 silvers, and 11 bronze.

In second place was the Sharjah Educational Zone with 25 medals, including eight golds, while reigning champions Fujairah came in third.

Furjairah had struggled in the opening two days in Dubai, however, a late surge saw its medal table rise from 11 to 27 on the final day of competition as they picked up an additional five gold, three silver and eight bronze medals.

Dubai had finished seventh in the 2012 competition, which were the inaugural UAE School Olympic Games launched after the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Games were launched with the aim to disseminate the principles of the Olympic Movement and instil various sports concepts among all students across the UAE.

The UAE School Olympic Games saw around 1,100 students participate across six sports in the finals held at Dubai's Police Officers Club and Al Wasl Club ©UAENOCThe UAE School Olympic Games saw around 1,100 students participate across six sports in the finals held at Dubai's Police Officers Club and Al Wasl Club ©UAENOC


The second edition of the Games began in April 2013 and saw around 181,939 students participate across all regions of the UAE.

This figure was whittled down to an estimated 1,091 students who took part in this week's finals.

Here, competitors displayed their prowess six sports, in gymnastics, athletics, swimming, archery and fencing

The Dubai zone walked away with the top cash prize of Dh50,000 ($13,613.20/£8,126.35/9,985.50) and the overall winner's trophy, while Sharjah bagged Dh30,000 ($8,167.92/£4,875.81/€6,002.31) and Fujairah carried away Dh20,000 ($5,445.28/£3,250.54/€4,002.15).

The individual medal winners were also rewarded with cash incentives with a gold medal fetching Dh3,000 ($816.79/£487.58/€600.23), while silver and bronze medalists got Dh2,000 ($544.53/£325.05/€400.15) and Dh1,000 ($272.26/£162.53/€199.71) respectively.

The Games were held under the patronage of UAE National Olympic Committee President Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who presented the winners with their medals.

His was joined in these ceremonies by Saeed Hareb, vice-President of Dubai International Marine Club, Marwan Al Sawaleh, under-secretary of Ministry of Education and Colonel Nasser Abdul Razaq Al Razouqi, President of UAE Karate and Taekwondo Federation.

"This is a win-win situation for all of us and we can be proud of what we have achieved this year," said Al Sawaleh.

"This competition will get better in the future and we will have a much bigger bank of top-level sportspeople in the UAE."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]