HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, applauded the achievement of Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, who finished the IRONMAN 70.3 race in Austin, Texas.
"Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, whom I consider more than a friend and a brother, possesses determination without limits," HH Shaikh Nasser posted on his Instagram account.
"He came to me and told me that he wished to participate in an IRONMAN competition, which coincided with his 40th birthday, only five weeks away from the kick-off of the event. So, I set a programme for him to follow, which he committed to, completing the challenge. His joy when I spoke to him was indescribable. I knew that the programme was not sufficient and that he was far from ready, but I also know that his determination would propel him to the finish line."
Shaikh Khalid expressed his thanks and appreciation to HH Shaikh Nasser for his encouragement to participate in the championship and finish the race. 
"I told HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa that I would like to participate in Austin City’s IRONMAN Championship 70.3, which was held in Texas, USA. HH encouraged me to participate and expressed his full readiness to stand by my side and prepare an integrated programme for my participation, in spite of the short duration for preparation, which was limited to only five weeks," he said. 
"The direct follow-up of HH Shaikh Nasser has been a strong force of motivation for me to remain committed to the programme and to complete it as required, in order to pave my path to my first IRONMAN participation. Thanks to his support, I was able to complete the race which was clearly difficult and had a challenging terrain, with a climb of 1555 ft. by cycle. I am very happy to have finished the race in my first IRONMAN participation, especially alongside over 2,000 participants, clocking 07.04 hours. This achievement will be a strong motivation for me to participate strongly in upcoming championships."