DOHA – Qatar’s swimmers produced a remarkable start to their GCC Games campaign after collecting five medals, including three gold and two silver medals, on the opening day of the swimming competitions at the fourth GCC Games in Doha 2026.
The multi-sport event continues until May 22 and brings together nearly 1,400 athletes from across the GCC in 17 different sports. The first gold medal for the host nation was secured by Saad Al Din Saad Al Din, who stormed to victory in the men’s 800m freestyle with a new Games record of 7:57.54 minutes. Bahrain’s Robert Ponsal settled for silver, while Kuwait’s Saud Al Shamroukh completed the podium with bronze.
The medal winners were honored by H.E Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Second Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee.
Qatar’s dominance continued through Mohamed Mahmoud, who clinched gold in the 200m individual medley after delivering a record-breaking swim of 2:03.02 minutes. Bahrain’s Saud Ghali claimed silver, while Kuwait’s Khaled Al Otaibi finished third.
H.E Jassim Bin Rashid Al-Buenain, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee crowned the winners of the event. The third gold medal arrived through Emile Fawzi, who excelled in the 200m butterfly with another new Games record of 2:02.20 minutes. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al Zaki took silver, while Kuwait’s Mohammed Al Otaibi earned bronze.
In other results, Ali Tamer earned the silver medal in the 50m freestyle with a time of 22.69 seconds, finishing behind Saudi swimmer Imad Al Din Zaben, who secured gold and set a new Games record of 22.64 seconds.
Bahrain’s Mikhail Arkhangelski finished third to take bronze in 22.85 seconds. Meanwhile, Abdullah Al Ghamri won silver in the 100m backstroke after posting a time of 58.32 seconds.
Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al Issa captured the gold medal with a new Games record of 57.39 seconds, while fellow Saudi swimmer Ali Abdulwahab claimed bronze in 1:00.22 minutes.
Swimming action resumes Wednesday with the second day programme including the 400m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 100m freestyle, 200m backstroke, and the 4x100m freestyle relay.
