JORDAN CELEBRATES OLYMPIANS

It was a night to remember as Jordan celebrated its Olympians at a wonderful party in the park last night (Friday). Thousands of people welcomed Team Jordan who arrived at Al Hussein Park as heroes on an open top bus to mark the Kingdom’s most successful ever Olympic Games to date. Seven of the eight athletes were present, including gold medal taekwondo winner Ahmad Abu Ghaush. Onlyu triathlete Lawrence Fanous was absent as he has remained in Rio to holiday with his family.

Among the VIPs present were HE Rami Weriekat, Minister of Youth; Lana Al Jaghbeer, Jordan Olympic Committee Secretary General; Hussein Al Hawatmeh, Gendarmes Forces Manager; Hazim Al Nuaimat, Vice President of Taekwondo Federation along with many more officials and sports personalities.

Jordanian singers Meyer Al Saqqar and Hussein Al Salman made it a party to remember with the Gendarmes Musical Band keeping the crowd entertained before the athletes arrived.

The athletes shared their experiences with swimmers Khader and Talita Baqlah, who are brother and sister, describing their swims that landed new national records and boxer Hussein Ishaiash talking about reaching the quarters finals. Ibrahim Khalaf described his honour of ensuring Jordan judo returned to the Games while Obada Al Kesbeh promised to be back for Tokyo 2020 after impressing in his boxing bout.

Popular runner Mithqal Abbadi received huge applause after describing how he managed to finish a tough marathon that saw many top runners drop out. But the highlight of the night was Abu Ghaush and his coach Faris Al Assaf taking centre stage and showing his appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah II and the people of Jordan who he has dedicated his achievement to.

He also acknowledged the support of HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, JOC President, and HRH Prince Rashid Bin Al Hassan, President of the Tawkwondo Federation. “This event has been orgabised to show the athletes just how proud we all are of their achievements, especially the gold medal of Ahmad Abu Ghaush.

 We wanted to provide the opportunity for the whole of Jordan to celebrate,” said Al Jaghbeer. “Hopefully the achievements of these athletes will inspire a whole new generation of sportsmen and women to do their best and represent Jordan in the future.” The JOC will be holding an official celebration on Tuesday to award Abu Ghaush and Al Assaf their prize money prize. Abu Ghaush will receive 100,000JD while his coach will receive 50,000 JD.

The Athletes' Party in the Park was organised for the Jordan Olympic Committee by Bidaya Corporate Communications under the sponsorship of Al Raya Media Group (Radio Hala, Hala News, Bliss 104.3, Jaish FM ), Zain, JOPetrol, BCI, Pepsi, Ministry of Youth, Greater Amman Municipality