BAHRAIN claimed a sensational 12 medals yesterday – six of which were won on the opening night of athletics events – on the third day of competition at the fourth GCC Games in Doha, Qatar.
The kingdom’s overall haul included five gold, five silver, and two bronze medals last night, with Bahrain’s swimmers and boxers joining their track and field counterparts on their respective podiums.
The Bahraini delegation at the Qatari capital now boast a 23-medal total in third place on the six-nation medal table, including eight gold, 10 silver, and five bronze.
In athletics, Bahrain’s stars struck gold twice, while also adding three silver medals and one bronze at Qatar Sports Club. Five of those medals were claimed by the kingdom’s leading women’s athletes.
Nelly Korir and Raihanah Garoubah were both crowned champions of their respective events. Korir captured gold in the women’s 800 metres final while Garoubah won the women’s 100m title race.
The three silver medals were claimed by Zenab Mahamat as she joined Korir on the women’s 800m podium, Layla Kamal who finished right behind Garbouah in the women’s 100m, and Noora Jasim in the women’s discus throw.
Abdelrahman Mahmoud completed the Bahrainis’ winnings in athletics yesterday by capturing bronze in the men’s shot put final.
The athletics events at this year’s GCC Games continue today with another packed programme. The morning session begins at 8am and then the evening competitions get underway at 6.30pm. Action on the track and in the field continues until Sunday at the Qatari capital.
In the women’s 800m final last night, Korir put in a dominant run as she led Mahamat to a Bahraini one-two. She won their race in two minutes and 00.54 seconds, building a comfortable gap ahead of her compatriot as Mahamat followed as silver-medallist in 2:09.18. Meryem Salek from Qatar also climbed the podium by taking bronze in 2:20.23.
The women’s 100m final saw Garbouah and Kamal separated by just three-hundredths of a second at the finish. The kingdom’s talented young sprinters powered ahead of the field as they made their way down the straight, with Garoubah securing gold in 11.35s and Kamal finishing as runner-up in 11.38s. Dana Salem of Qatar claimed the bronze medal in 11.74s.
Jasim bagged her discus throw silver medal with a best attempt of 44.43m. Her top mark came in the fourth of her six tries, while she also registered successful efforts of 42.34m and 42.05m. Fatima Alhosani of the UAE won with a best throw of 48.37m, while Salma Almarri, also of the UAE, took bronze at 44.08m.
Mahmoud had two successful attempts en route to taking his shot put bronze. His best mark was 18.48m on his final try, while he also threw for an 18.39m distance. Mohammed Tolu of Saudi was the gold-medallist at 19.21m, while Hamza Souissi of Qatar captured bronze at 18.55m.
Amongst Bahrain’s top athletes scheduled to be in action today are former world indoor champion and reigning Asian Games quadruple gold-medallist Kemi Adekoya in the women’s 400m final, scheduled for 7pm, and Dawit Fikadu in the men’s 10,000m final set for 7.40pm. Both times are Bahrain.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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