Sadness and dismay in the canoeing family. The discipline's body, the ICF (International Canoe Federation), announces the sudden disappearance of the founder of the Lebanese Canoe-Kayak Federation, Ali Mohammed Awada. According to Lebanese police, he was killed during a burglary gone wrong at his residence. Ali Mohammed Awada was one of Lebanon's most famous kayakers and rafters. After being at the origin of the creation of the Lebanese Canoe-Kayak Federation, he served as its general secretary. He also founded the local Al-Kharady canoeing and rafting club. Ali Mohammed Awada lived for many years in France, in Toulouse, notably accompanying the French team. He moved to Lebanon in 1995, determined to introduce canoeing and kayaking to the country, with the hope of uniting the population, scarred by 20 years of civil war.
