The last week was of great significance to Bahrain in the area of sports as the rich sporting culture of the land got boosted by two spectacular victories that won Bahrain a silver and a gold medal!
Silver medal at the Women’s Marathon: Eunice Kirwa
Bahrain has won a medal in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (Rio 2016).
Bahraini athlete, Eunice Kirwa, clinched the medal in the women’s Olympic marathon. Kirwa, who clocked 2:24:13, was nine seconds behind the race winner, Jemima Sumgong of Kenya (2:24:04), and ahead of bronze medalist, Mare Dibaba (2:24:30).
Gold medalist, Jemima Sumgong, pushed past Eunice Kirwa and Mare Dibaba in the final mile, finishing in 2 hours 24 minutes 4 seconds in a race that started and ended at the Sambódromo.
With the silver medal, Bahrain has moved well ahead of several countries that did not get on the podium or win bronze medals.
With more Bahraini athletes scheduled to take part in competitions later, the tally at the Rio 2016 Olympics is hoped to be even brighter than that of London four years ago in which Bahrain won its first ever Olympic medal thanks to its middle-distance runner Maryam Yusuf Jamal in the women’s 1500 metres.
First -Ever Gold at Women’s Steeplechase: Ruth Jebet
The teenager brought Bahrain their first ever Olympic gold medal on 15 August, blowing away the competition. Jebet stormed into the lead after a few laps and set a blistering pace to win in 8:59.75 seconds, shy of the 8:58.81 world record set by Russia’s Gulnara Galkina at the 2008 Beijing Games.
“This is the second time that I missed the world record. I admit it was too easy for me but nobody told me about the record. I wanted the gold medal,” Jebet said.
The taste of success is sweet and no one can vouch for it better other than Ruth and Eunice!