Bahrain was crowned champion of the thirteenth Asian Cross Country Championships, held at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club in the Sakhir area, after dominating every event and taking the top places in the men’s, women’s, youth and junior women’s races at both individual and team level, with Bahrain’s male and female champions collecting 11 medals in the overall total, including 4 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals
The championships were opened under the patronage of Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty the King for charity work and youth affairs and chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport and president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, and in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, first deputy chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport, president of the West Asian Athletics Federation and president of the Bahrain Athletics Federation, and Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, IAAF vice-president and president of the Qatari and Asian athletics federations
The ceremony began with the arrival of Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, patron of the event, after which Major General Dahlan Al Hamad delivered the Asian Athletics Association’s address, welcoming the gracious patronage of the Asian event and the good participation from the continent’s teams and wishing everyone success, especially as Asian championships have returned to see a great deal of interaction, rivalry and determination to excel. He considered that everyone is seeking to deliver a standard that confirms the presence of good talent capable of reaching world level, and wished all participants success at an event that had been well prepared with determination to make it a success by officials. Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa then delivered the Bahrain Athletics Federation’s address, after which Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa honoured runner (Eunice Kirwa), winner of third place and the bronze medal in the marathon at the World Championships organised by China last summer, 2015.
The IAAF vice-president and president of the Asian Athletics Federation, Dahlan Al Hamad, also presented a commemorative gift to Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Bahrain’s runners dominated the men’s 12-kilometre individual race after taking the top three places, with runner “Albert Rop” winning first place and the gold medal in a time of 32:35.22 min, runner “Isaac Korir” taking second place and the silver medal in 32:58.73 min, and runner “Aoiki” taking third place and the bronze medal in 33:06.27 min.
At team level, the Kingdom of Bahrain won first place with 6 points, Japan finished second with 31 points, and Iran finished third with 35 points.
Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, first deputy chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport and president of the Bahrain Athletics Federation, crowned the winners of the men’s individual and team events
Bahrain’s women dominated the women’s 8-kilometre individual race after sweeping the top three places, with runner “Eunice Jumba” winning first place and the gold medal in 29:35.38 min, runner “Ruth Jebet” taking second place and the silver medal in 29:41.24 min, and runner “Mimi Belete” taking third place and the bronze medal in 29:45.90 min.
Bahrain was crowned team champion after topping the race standings with 6 points, with China finishing second with 32 points. Bahrain’s Dalila Abdulkader won first place and the gold medal in the junior women’s 6-kilometre individual race after covering the race distance in 21:54.37 min, her compatriot “Desi Mokonin” took second place and the silver medal in 22:00.43 min, while Japan’s “Yuka Mukai” took third place and the bronze medal in 22:06.29 min.
Bahrain took first place in the overall standings for the junior women’s 6-kilometre team event with 8 points, Japan finished second with 13 points, and Jordan finished third with 50 points.
The champions of the 6-kilometre individual race were crowned by the president of the Asian Athletics Federation, IAAF vice-president and president of the Asian and Qatari athletics federations, Major General Dahlan Al Hamad. Bahrain’s youth swept the men’s 8-kilometre youth race after taking the top three places, with runner Abdi Ali winning first place and the gold medal in 26:17.55 min, runner “Dirara” taking second place and the silver medal in 26:19.02 min, while runner Abdi Ibrahim won third place and the bronze medal in 27:10.09 min.
The Kingdom of Bahrain topped the overall standings for the youth 6-kilometre team event with 6 points, Japan took second place with 15 points, while Iran finished third with 49 points
