Bahrain at the Olympics
Bahrain is a relative “new kid on the block” when it comes to the Olympic Games. The country did not compete in the Olympics until the 1984 Summer Games held in Los Angeles, California, USA. From then on, they have been consistently participating in the Summer Games but had never won a medal until 2012 when former Ethiopian runner Maryam Yusuf Jamal originally took the bronze in the women’s 1500 meters, but was elevated to the gold medal after the first two runners were later found guilty of doping violations.
Jamal was part of a twelve-athlete delegation sent to represent the country that consisted of four men and eight women. The 2012 Summer Games is historic for Bahrain, not only because this is when they first won an Olympic medal but also because this is the first time that the country had more female than male athletes representing it. This had not happened before for any Arab country.
In 2016, Bahrain won its second gold medal when teenager Ruth Jebet won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase while narrowly missing out on the world record.
As with many Arab countries, Bahrain has never competed in any Winter Games.
Trivia
- Rashid Ramzi was hailed as Bahrain's first-ever Olympic medalist when he won the men's 1500m gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, however the medal it was later stripped from him due to a doping violation.
Related Pages
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Bahrain
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