Royal Jordanian named the official carrier for ITU World Cup

The event will be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Bin Al-Hussein, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC). Around 120 of the world's top triathletes will compete in Aqaba on March 10, 2006. The event comprises of a 1.5-km swim in the Gulf of Aqaba, a 40-km bike ride and a 10-km run.

As official carrier of those participating in the event, Royal Jordanian will undertake the logistical challenge of flying to Jordan all the athletes who would have taken part in the previous week's event in Doha. Hereafter, the airline will carry them to several European cities. Tickets will also be offered to the winners.

RJ has always shown keenness to sponsor sports events of such magnitude. Time and again, it went beyond its main mission, that of being Jordan's national air carrier, to support national and international events which Jordan hosts. The airline believes that it, along with other leading Jordanian companies, has the national duty to exert all efforts that aim at promoting Jordan, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) in particular.

Triathlon is one of the world's fastest growing sports, fully recognized as an Olympic discipline. As such, it is bound to play a major role in showcasing Jordan, which is part of the JOC's long-term strategy to attract more events of this stature to the country.

The ITU World Cup events are expected to have a great economic impact on the ASEZ. It will provide an ideal promotional platform for the city, and will be watched on television in 180 countries.

Athletes from across the world will be competing for their share of $100,000 prize money.