Mike Ballard says he feels like an “honorary member of the UAE team” despite competing in USA colours at the ICF International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup in Hungary.
The American paddler, who is now based in Dubai having moved from Abu Dhabi earlier this year, has been training with the recently-formed national team in Jumeirah in the lead-up to the event.
While Ballard, whose long-established goal is to appear at the Paralympic Games in Paris next year, has experience of a number of international events, the UAE only recently started competing at the top level.
Balazs Bartfai, a student at Kent College in Dubai, became the first UAE competitor to appear at an ICF event when he appeared at the Under-23 World Cup last September.
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