Olympic triathlete Shachar Sagiv became the first Israeli to compete in a Saudi sporting event at the end of October.  This followed UKLFI’s complaint to the World Triathlon organisation after an Israeli team was denied entry into Jordan for the Asian Cup triathlon competition earlier in October.

Sagiv competed in the Saudi NEOM leg of the Super League Triathlon. The head of Israel’s Olympic committee, Yael Arad, is reported to have called  Sagiv’s participation “a very significant breakthrough.” Arad said in a statement: “In the past year we’ve seen many Arab states come to terms with the fact that hosting an international tournament means hosting Israelis….. This is a growing trend and the true force in normalization between nations, and especially people.”

Lior Cohen, Sagiv’s coach,  commented on social media that he and Sagiv had no problems entering Saudi Arabia with their Israeli passports. Cohen also mentioned that they had been prevented from competing in the triathlon competition in Jordan even though Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement 28 years ago.

The triathlon is a multi-sport endurance competition in which athletes swim, run and bicycle.

Sagiv fell from his from his bicycle and was eliminated after not getting on his bike within 90 seconds of the leading competitor. The Saudi competition was won by Hayden Wilde of New Zealand.