This year’s NEOM Beach Games – the third edition of the giga-project’s popular sports competition – opened on Sunday, November 3, 2024 with the participation of 1,000 international athletes, their coaches and team officials.
Kicking off the event was the third edition of the exhilarating supertri NEOM. In a thrilling showdown, the Olympic gold medalists Cassandre Beaugrand claimed the women’s podium in NEOM, while Alex Yee secured the men’s. As the grand finale of the league, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Hayden Wilde trophied supertri League in 2024. Crown Racing also took home the Teams title after a strong performance.
Set against the stunning backdrop of NEOM’s natural landscapes, the participating athletes faced the intense supertri format – three continuous rounds of swimming, cycling and running – with the elements of sand, wind and sea adding to the competitive challenge. The triathlon event, which has featured at NEOM Beach Games since the competition’s inception in 2022, serves as the grand finale of the supertri League in 2024.
NEOM Sport’s Managing Director, Jan Paterson, said: “The launch of NEOM Beach Games for the third consecutive year reflects NEOM’s commitment to providing a unique environment that enables emerging and competitive sports talent, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030’s goal of building a vibrant society. It fulfils NEOM’s aspirations to build a global, multicultural society, with sport acting as a bridge between peoples and cultures.”
She added: “The success of supertri NEOM, which welcomed gold medalists from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, highlights NEOM’s aspiration to become a premier destination for high performance sports.”
NEOM and supertri have worked closely to grow the sport of triathlon in the Kingdom. The collaboration has included the Stars of Tomorrow program, which offers promising young athletes the opportunity to train alongside Olympic and world champions. Through race weekend activities, including school visits, clinics with supertri pros and training sessions for technical officials, NEOM remains dedicated to empowering the Saudi Triathlon Federation, enabling the Kingdom to run its own events and foster independent growth.
supertri also promotes the participation of women in triathlon, including supporting trailblazer Jude Jamjoom from the Kingdom, one of the stars of supertri’s NXTGen program, which will continue into 2025.
Michael D’hulst, supertri CEO and co-founder, added: “supertri NEOM was a fitting conclusion to a spectacular season, delivering thrilling racing in an incredible setting. It has been a brilliant supertri League season and I am very happy that we were able to finish it again in NEOM, bringing a unique blend of entertainment and inspiration. I am proud of the work we’ve done together with NEOM to grow and develop the sport in the Kingdom and I look forward to continuing to build on this legacy.”
The fierce competition that is a feature of NEOM Beach Games, combined with NEOM’s world-class setting, reflects NEOM’s commitment to hosting high-performance sports and inspiring a new generation of athletes, both within the Kingdom and beyond.
The next event at the NEOM Beach Games will be the FIBA 3×3 World Tour NEOM 2024, starting November 7, 2024.
For more information visit neom.com.