ATHLETICS – BAHRAIN’S reigning Olympic champion and former world champion Winfred Yavi claimed an impressive runner-up finish last night in a star-studded women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, in the US.
The meeting was the latest stop on this year’s Diamond League – international athletics’ premier one-day event series held around the world.
Yavi was amongst the leading group for much of the distance but then powered to the front at the bell. She was then engaged in a heated duel with current world number one and reigning world champion Faith Cherotich from Kenya, who took over at the front as they made their way down the final bend.
Cherotich held on to her advantage down the home stretch to win in eight minutes 51.74 seconds. Yavi was not far behind in 8:52.84, while Marwa Bouzayani from Tunisia, who led briefly late on before Yavi gained control, finished third in 8:54.32.
“The execution was really great,” Yavi said after her race. “I did as I planned. I was gaining more motivation and then I could see doing faster splits in 3,000.”
Doris Lemngole from Kenya finished fourth in 8:57.89 while ex-Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai from Uganda rounded out the top five amongst the 17-runner field in 9:05.39.
Yavi’s mark was slightly behind her season’s best of 8:51.54, which she clocked in her only other participation in the steeplechase this season at the Xiamen Diamond League meeting in China last May.
The 26-year-old superstar’s personal best in the steeplechase is 8:44.39, which is the second-fastest mark all-time and which is also the Asian and Bahrain record. Yavi also holds the meeting record for the Prefontaine Classic of 8:45.25, which she set last year.
In the Diamond League, after a season of competing and earning points amongst the world’s best, the top-placed athletes qualify for the final, where they will battle for the prestigious Diamond Trophy in their respective events. The Diamond Trophy is the most prestigious annual award in the sport.
Aside from competing on athletics’ international circuit this year, Yavi is also expected to be amongst the top medal hopefuls of Bahrain’s athletics national team at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, scheduled for this September 19 to October 4.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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