Golden Treble For Bahrain Athletics
Bahrain enjoyed a spectacular three-gold haul in athletics at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya yesterday, with Shitaye Habte, Salwa Eid Naser and Nelly Korir all climbing to the top of the podium.
Habte began the rush by winning the women’s marathon before Naser produced a blistering Games-record run to reclaim the women’s 400m crown and Korir followed with another record-breaking performance in the 1500m.
The haul continued a remarkable start to the athletics programme for the kingdom, taking Bahrain’s tally to six golds and two bronzes and placing it second in the athletics medal standings behind China.
Naser Reclaims Crown
Naser delivered the standout performance on the track at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, storming to 400m gold in 49.20 seconds.
The Bahraini star was in a class of her own, finishing more than three seconds clear of Iran’s Zahra Zarei Manoujan, who took silver in 52.38, while India’s Prachi claimed bronze in 53.21.
Her time also shattered the Games record of 50.09 she had set when winning the title at Jakarta 2018.
The victory saw Naser reclaim the Asian Games 400m crown after finishing runner-up to compatriot Kemi Adekoya at Hangzhou 2022.
Marathon Glory
Bahrain’s golden day had begun on the roads, where Habte prevailed in the women’s marathon after completing the 42.195km course in two hours, 27 minutes and 31 seconds.
She crossed the line 12 seconds ahead of China’s Cirencuomu, who took silver in 2:27:43, while Japan’s Mikuni Yada secured bronze in 2:27:56.
Compatriot Rose Sitienei also produced a strong run, finishing fifth in 2:29:51.
In the men’s race, Elhassan Elabbassi narrowly missed the medals after placing fifth in 2:12:45. Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita took gold, India’s Sawan Barwal silver and China’s Feng Peiyou bronze.
Korir Breaks Record
There was more to come late in the evening as Korir completed Bahrain’s golden treble with victory in the women’s 1500m.
The 35-year-old clocked 4:04.50 to take more than a second off the previous Games record of 4:06.03, which had stood since Busan 2002.
China’s Li Chunhui followed in 4:05.50 for silver, with Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka third in 4:06.14.
Elsewhere, Abdelrahman Mahmoud placed eighth in the men’s shot put with a best throw of 18.70 metres, while Salem Bakheet finished 16th overall in the men’s 110m hurdles.
Bahrain also had two runners reach the men’s 200m semi-finals. Ali Haji produced a personal-best 20.91 to finish 10th overall, while Abbas Ali clocked 21.01 for 13th. Neither advanced to the final.
In the women’s 200m, Odiong kept herself in contention for another medal by clocking 23.56 to advance to today’s final, while Raihanah Garoubah missed out after finishing 11th overall in 23.69.
Zouhair Aouad and Abdisamad Hirsi also saw their men’s 1500m campaigns end in the opening round. Aouad was seventh in his heat with a season-best 3:47.28, while Hirsi placed ninth in his race in 3:50.36.
Next Up
Another medal-packed programme awaits Bahrain today, with several of the kingdom’s athletes returning to action.
Odiong will be first up when she contests the women’s 200m final at 1.25pm, before Ahmed Mohamoud competes in the men’s high jump final at 1.45pm.
Olympic champion Winfred Yavi then begins the defence of her Asian Games women’s 3,000m steeplechase title at 3.22pm, with compatriot Tigest Mekonen also in the eight-runner field.
Bahrain will round off the day with both sprint relay teams in action. The women contest their 4x100m first-round heat at 3.55pm, followed by the men at 4.12pm.
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