ATHLETICS – BAHRAIN’S elite middle-distance specialist Nelly Jepkosgei claimed a strong runner-up finish last night in the women’s 800 metres at the eighth Irena Szewinska Memorial in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The meeting was a gold level event on the World Athletics Continental Tour, featuring top athletes from all over the world competing in various disciplines.
Jepkosgei finished the hotly contested race in two minutes 00.94 seconds – just two-tenths behind winner Valentina Rosamilia of Switzerland, who triumphed in 2:00.73.
Renelle Lamote of France came third amongst the 13-runner field in 2:01.13, while Phoebe Gill of Britain was fourth in 2:01.50. Completing the top eight were Charlotte Dumas of France in 2:02.53; Aleksandra Formella of Poland in 2:02.54; Angelika Sarna, also of Poland, in 2:02.72, and Lore Hoffmann of Switzerland in 2:03.79.
Jepkosgei’s time marked the second-fastest time of her outdoor season, in which she already competed over the 800m in several other meetings, including at the fourth GCC Games in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month, where she bagged a sensational middle-distance golden double after also winning the women’s 1,500m.
Her season’s best in the 800m is 1:59.49, which she set in Gaborone, Botswana, in April. Her personal best is 1:57.69 – a Bahraini record which she clocked in 2024.
Jepkosgei is next scheduled to compete on the international athletics stage at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athletisme – a Diamond League scheduled for tomorrow in Rabat, Morocco.
Jepkosgei will be running the women’s 1,500m there amongst a star-studded field of 19 other runners, including eight athletes who are currently amongst the top 100 in the distance’s world ranking.
Jepkosgei is also expected to be a part of the kingdom’s athletics national team that will be going for gold at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya in Japan in September and October of this year.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))