Heartbreak for Winfred at athletics worlds

TDT | Manama                                               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi had a heartbreaking end to her medal bid yesterday at the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, in the US. Winfred was in prime position to battle for victory on the last lap of a thrilling women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase final, and appeared to be headed for at least a podium finish as she was shoulder-to-shoulder with race leader Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan as they powered down the back straight.

But Winfred stumbled as she negotiated the concluding water jump around the final bend, allowing Jeruto to pull away and two of their other competitors to push ahead. The 22-year-old Bahraini tried valiantly to recover but it was too late. She slowed down in disappointment over the final metres as the top three ahead of her raced on to the finish.

Winfred had to settle for fourth overall as she narrowly missed out on a medal finish for the second straight world championships. She had also classified fourth in the steeplechase final at the 2019 edition of the worlds.

“I was more than ready…it’s hard to express my feelings, I got fourth place in my final,” Winfred wrote on social media following the race. “Thanks [to] my fans for your support and for everybody. Above all, a lot more is coming. “I blame myself for the big mistakes I did, losing my momentum in the final water jump. We learn through mistakes.

“Congratulations to my fellow steeplers.” Winfred completed the race in nine minutes 01.31 seconds. Jeruto clinched the gold medal in a championship record of 8:53.02, while the Ethiopian pair of Werkuha Getachew and Mekides Abebe followed in 8:54.61 and 8:56.08. Jeruto’s mark was also the steeplechase’s fastest time in the world this year, eclipsing the previous time of 8:56.55 set by Winfred last month.

Getachew clocked a new national record with her finish, while Abebe had a new personal best. A total of 15 athletes took part in the final. Winfred and Jeruto took turns taking the lead all throughout the race, and Winfred was briefly in front at the bell. Winfred’s participation marked the end of Bahrain’s campaign at this year’s world championships, in which they took part with four athletes but did not come away with any medals.

The others to race in Eugene alongside Winfred were sprinters Edidiong Odiong and Aminat Jamal, as well as marathoner Shumi Dechasa. Edidiong made it through to the semi-final stages of both the women’s 100m and women’s 200m but went no further, while Aminat could not advance past the first round heats of the women’s 400m hurdles. Dechasa had an impressive outing in the men’s marathon, placing in the top 10 in ninth overall. Eugene marked the eighth participation of Bahrain in the history of the world championships.