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Saudi Arabia: SBF Board of Directors Approves Global Sports Tower Designs

The Global Sports Tower, the tallest sports tower in the world and a key landmark of the Sports Boulevard project, will play a significant role in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. SPA
The Global Sports Tower, the tallest sports tower in the world and a key landmark of the Sports Boulevard project, will play a significant role in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: SBF Board of Directors Approves Global Sports Tower Designs

The Global Sports Tower, the tallest sports tower in the world and a key landmark of the Sports Boulevard project, will play a significant role in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. SPA
The Global Sports Tower, the tallest sports tower in the world and a key landmark of the Sports Boulevard project, will play a significant role in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. SPA

The board of directors of the Sports Boulevard Foundation (SBF), chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, approved the Global Sports Tower designs, a prominent landmark within the Sports Boulevard project on Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road in Riyadh.

The Global Sports Tower, the tallest sports tower in the world and a key landmark of the Sports Boulevard project, will play a significant role in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The tower is set to enhance the quality of life in Riyadh, positioning the city as one of the top 10 economies globally.
The Sports Boulevard, a groundbreaking project, will offer a unique destination that integrates all aspects of life. This project is envisioned as a bridge to a futuristic urban environment for Riyadh, promising to positively influence the Kingdom's economy and elevate its international standing.

The Sports Boulevard project extends for more than 135 km on Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road, connecting Wadi Hanifah in the West with Wadi Al Sulai in the East through a grid of safe green pathways for pedestrians, cyclists, athletes, and horse riders.

The project includes more than 4.4 million square meters of greenery and open spaces and up to 50 multidisciplinary sports facilities. In addition, there are several unique destinations and investment zones, totaling an area that exceeds 3 million square meters.

The world’s first sports tower of such scale will contribute to achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, which commits to creating a sustainable, regenerative environment that enhances the quality of life. This includes a real sports renaissance that not only elevates the Kingdom's international ambitions but also provides facilities to encourage grassroots sports participation.
The Global Sports Tower is set to be the tallest sports tower in the world, standing at 130 meters. The total internal area is 84,000 square meters. It will include more than 30 different sports facilities and the world's tallest indoor climbing wall, which totals 98 meters.

The wall offers opportunities for climbers from all levels from beginner to professional, all can enjoy the world's fastest-growing sport. The tower will be crowned with the world's highest running track. Fully digitized and with a circuit of 250 meters, any athlete can enjoy a unique training experience, whilst enjoying one of the best views of Riyadh.

The tower is distinguished by its unique architectural design that applies to the Sports Boulevard Design Code driven by the principles of Salmani architecture, which is based on both originality and modernity. The tower following these principles makes it a distinctive landmark on Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road and across the whole of Riyadh.

The tower aims to achieve the goals of the Sports Boulevard project and improve the quality of life in Riyadh by promoting sports and enabling the community by providing world-class facilities that contribute to promoting a sports culture among all members of society.

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Fickle Winds Continue to Affect Olympic Sailing Medal Races

 Fickle winds continued to affect the first medal races for sailing at the Paris Olympics Friday (The AP)
 Fickle winds continued to affect the first medal races for sailing at the Paris Olympics Friday (The AP)
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Fickle Winds Continue to Affect Olympic Sailing Medal Races

 Fickle winds continued to affect the first medal races for sailing at the Paris Olympics Friday (The AP)
 Fickle winds continued to affect the first medal races for sailing at the Paris Olympics Friday (The AP)

Fickle winds continued to affect the first medal races for sailing at the Paris Olympics Friday, as officials hoped to squeeze four of them between the calm and hot morning and the strong thunderstorm expected to roll in in the late afternoon.

The women's skiffs started right after noon Friday, to the cheering of fans that waited for hours the day before under the punishing sun.

The Netherlands’ Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz won the gold medal with Sweden’s Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler coming in second. Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon of France finished third, The AP reported.

Both the men’s and women’s skiffs, known as 49erFX — powerful, bird-like two-person boats — were originally scheduled for Thursday but postponed due to a lack of wind.

Picon’s partner, Jean-Emmanuel Mestre, with their daughter Lou, 7, perched on his shoulders said the stress was palpable but their first goal was to support the athletes.

“We try to maintain our routine,” said Mestre. “It’s the same for everyone.”

The medal race for the men’s skiffs started twice Thursday in Marseille before being abandoned after the light wind died, leaving athletes broiling in the heat on the water in the interval for several hours.

“It was an emotional roller coaster,” said Isaac McHardie of New Zealand, which was third entering the medal race for the men’s skiffs called 49ers.

After the skiffs, the agenda Friday has the windsurfing men’s and women’s medal races. If they can’t be run, they might be pushed back another day.

Also starting on Friday was a new sailing event, the mixed-gender dinghy called 470 — introduced this year to even out medal opportunities between men and women for the first time. And the men's and women's dinghies should be continuing their races, too, making for quite a crowd in Marseille's beautiful, monument-fringed bay.

Officials were working on alternative plans for the medal races if the weather doesn’t collaborate, as it hasn’t since the sailing competition started Sunday. Races have been routinely delayed, and a windsurfing “marathon” Wednesday was also abandoned more than an hour into it.

In sailing, points are accumulated over multiple regattas over multiple days, with the medal races usually counting for double points. But largely because of the fickle conditions, nobody in the skiffs has yet a clear grasp of the podium.

The men’s team from Spain and the women’s team from France were in the lead going into the medal races after 12 regattas.

In windsurfing, where the rules are a bit different, two athletes have made it far enough into the rankings to be guaranteed a medal — Emma Wilson of Britain and Grae Morris of Austrialia. Everyone else is still in the cliffhanger.

The uncertainty makes the delays and abandoned races particularly painful, and the heat also takes a physical toll.

On Thursday, the skiffs sat on the water in their protective gear under a punishing sun with temperatures pushing 35 degrees Celsius (low 90s), with some athletes running low on water and ice as they waited. Temperatures were expected to soar even higher on Friday.

For athletes, the biggest challenge was to be both switched on for the peak moment of their career — and relaxed enough not to waste physical and mental energy on what they can't control.

“It's part of sailing," Duetz said Thursday after the women waited about an hour in their skiffs but their race never started.

The fans were trying to take it in stride too, welcoming the skiffs back with cheers and waving flags Thursday evening after sweltering on a shadeless breakwater most of the afternoon. Among them were the families of France’s Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon, who were first on the women’s start list.

“So exciting and so nervous and so anxious,” is how Steyaert’s father, Patrick Steyaert, summed up the wait, while Sarah’s 5-year-old daughter threw herself into her mother’s arms, weeping.