Salwa Eid Naser
(200m)
Date of birth: May 23, 1998
Personal best: 23.03s
Season’s best: 23.10s
Olympic record: 21.34s
World record: 21.34s
Salwa is the future of Bahrain athletics. At just 18, is already a well-known figure on the international athletics stage. In 2014, she won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. The following year, she went even one better by cinching the 400m world title at the IAAF World Youth Championships. It was a wonderful achievement for Bahrain athletics. She must now live up to her potential and deliver a stunning performance in Rio.
Edidiong Odiong
(200m)
Date of birth: March 13, 1997
Personal best: 22.84s
Season’s best: 22.84s
Edidiong is Bahrain’s most recent star, having won a world title in the 200m at the IAAF World under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland just last July. It was a brilliant and history-making result as she earned Bahrain its first-ever sprints gold medal at that age-level. She will have a mammoth task matching that feat in Rio, but she will surely be one of the most interesting participants.
Oluwakemi Adekoya
(400m hurdles)
Date of birth: January 16, 1993
Personal best: 54.12s
Season’s best: 54.87s
Olympic record: 52.64s
World record: 52.34s
Oluwakemi is one of Bahrain’s brightest young stars. Earlier this year, she made athletics history by claiming the 400m title at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in the US. It was the first-ever global accolade for Bahrain in the indoor sprints and it set the expectations high for her heading into the Olympics. It will be in the 400m hurdles, however, she will be running in Rio. She is capable of putting in a fine result, with a third-place finish at the IAAF Continental Cup in 2014 amongst the hurdles highlights in her young career. She has yet to match her personal best this season, but all eyes will be on her as one of Bahrain’s best medal hopefuls.
Ruth Jebet
(3,000m steeplechase)
Date of birth: November 17, 1996
Personal best: 8:59.97
Season’s best: 8:59.97
Olympic best: 8:58.81
World record: 8:58.81
Ruth is the ultimate distance runner and one of Bahrain’s best bets in winning a medal in Rio. She burst into the international stage in 2014 clinching the 3,000m steeplechase title at the IAAF World Junior Championships in the US. She was later third at the IAAF Continental Cup that same season, but in 2015 had a sub-par showing at the World Championships in Beijing. She will be hoping to bounce back and return to her world title-winning ways in Rio. She is currently in good form heading into the Olympics. Last May, she registered a sub-nine minute time, which was also a new personal best. Bahrain is hopeful that she continues to impress en route to securing a place on the steeplechase podium.
Tigest Mikonin Getent
(3,000m steeplechase)
Date of birth: July 7, 1997
Persona best: 9:20.65
Season’s best: 9:31.84
Tigest was a 3,000metres steeplechase silver-medallist at the IAAF World under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. That was the highlight of her young career. She has also participated in the 2,000m steeplechase and the 3,000m. She will be one of the more exciting young prospects in her event in Rio, where she hopes to stun the world and showcase her limitless potential.
Mimi Belete
(1,500m, 5,000m)
Date of birth: June 9, 1988
Personal best (1,500m): 4:00.08
Personal best (5,000m): 14:54.71
Season’s best (1,500m): 4:12.84
Season’s best (5,000m): NA
Olympic record: 3:53.96, 14:40.79
World record: 3:50.07, 14:11.15
Mimi is one of the Bahrain more senior athletes. She has been flying the Kingdom’s red and white flag since 2006 and has won many medals at the senior level. Rio will be her second Olympic Games. She has also competed in the IAAF World Championships, IAAF World Indoor Championships, the IAAF Continental Cup and the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She is a talented middle and long-distance runner. She used to partner former world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal and the pair were a force to reckon with. She is one of only a handful of Bahraini athletes running in more than one event in Rio.
Tigist Belay Gashaw
(1,500m)
Date of birth: December 25, 1996
Personal best: 4:05.58
Season’s best: 4:06.53
Tigist is a former world champion at the youth level (under-16). She won first place in the 1,500m final with a time of 4:14.25.She has yet to win a major medal at the senior level but has progressed well from the time she made her international debut in 2013 to this season, where she has come close to matching her personal best in the 1,500m. She is more than capable of pulling off a surprise at the Olympics but will need to do her absolute best to get a good result.
Dalila Abdulkadir Gosa
(5,000m)
Date of birth: June 27, 1998
Personal best: 15.10.79
Season’s best: 15:10.79
Olympic record: 14:40.79
World record: 14:11.15
Dalila is one of Bahrain’s most talented young athletes who has already gained success on multiple occasions for Bahrain at the youth and junior levels. Her first major achievement came in 2014 when she won a 1,500m bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. She then followed that up the very next year with a silver medal in the same distance at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia. She added another major award just last month at the IAAF World under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland clinching a silver medal in the 3,000m. She also came away a respectable seventh competing in the 5,000m in Bydgoszcz. She hopes to make use of her previous experiences and turn in a medal-winning performance in Rio.
Eunice Kirwa
(Marathon)
Date of birth: May 20, 1984
Personal best: 2:21:41
Season’s best: 2:22.40
Olympic record: 2:23:07
World record: 2:17.42
Eunice is one of several Bahraini athletes who are scheduled to compete in the women’s marathon in Rio. She holds the leading personal best time. She is coming off a bronze-medal winning performance in the marathon from last year’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China – a major feat for a Bahraini athlete at the highest level of competition.
Rose Chelimo
(Marathon)
Date of birth: July 12, 1989
Personal best: 2:24:14
Season’s best: 2:24:14
Rose is another Bahrain medal hopeful. Having only this year moved into the event after previously competing over shorter distances, she has shown promise with her debut time. She will be aiming to turn that promise into a solid result in Rio.
Shitaye E Habregeioges
(Marathon)
Date of birth: May 21, 1990
Personal best: 2:25:36
Season’s best: 2:25:36
Shitaye used to be one of Bahrain’s top young prospects in the long distance races. At the last Olympics in 2012, She finished an impressive sixth in the women’s 10,000m and fifth in the 5,000m. She is yet to win a major international medal for Bahrain, but hopes to change that in Rio.
Lishan Dula Gemgchu
(Marathon)
Date of birth: February 17, 1987
Personal best: 2:26:56
Season’s best: 2:38:19
Lishan is one of Bahrain’s more experienced marathoners. At the 2012 Olympics, she finished 61st. She has also competed at the last three IAAF World Championships, with a 15th-place classification as her best showing in 2013. She will be hoping to improve on it in Rio.
Eunice Chumba
(Marathon)
Date of birth: May 23, 1993
Personal best: 2:31:13
Season’s best: 2:31:13
Eunice is one of Bahrain’s more experienced distance runners who is scheduled to compete at the Rio Olympic Games. Eunice heads into the event having recently clocked her personal best time, shaving off two seconds from her previous fastest mark.
Merima Mohammed
(Marathon)
Date of birth: June 10, 1992
Personal best: 2:23:06
Season’s best: NA
Merima has competed internationally in the past and has had some respectable results. She clocked her personal best way back in 2010 and has yet to run a marathon in 2016, but she will be hoping her years of experience can help her in Rio.
Aster Tesfaye
(Marathon)
Date of birth: October 27, 1990
Personal best: 2:34:39
Season’s best: 2:39:09
Aster has an outside chance of making a splash at in Rio. She represented Bahrain at last year’s IAAF World Championships and finished 42nd. She also has plenty of experience in cross country races, and hopefully that translates to further success in the marathon.
Fatema Al Mahmeed
(Swimming, 50m free style)
Fatema will be representing the Kingdom as a wild card. Guided by Bahrain Swimming Association’s Romanian coach Aliaksandr Karpaliou, the 16-year-old will be hoping to register a new personal best time.
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