Winfred Yavi of Bahrain achieved a remarkable victory by winning the gold medal in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase. What makes her victory even more inspiring is that she faced rejection from the Kenyan national team before finding success with Bahrain.
On Tuesday, August 6, the 24-year-old Kenyan-born athlete smashed the Olympic record in the women’s 3000m steeplechase to claim gold for Bahrain, securing Bahrain’s first gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the third-ever Olympic gold for the Gulf nation.
Yavi dethroned Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai, who meanwhile bagged the silver. Kenya’s Faith Cherotich marked her Olympic debut with a bronze.
“This is like a dream come true. It’s something special. It means a lot to me and also to the country,” Yavi told the reporters.
Yavi’s incredible performance at the Olympics not only earned her the gold medal but also saw her set a new Olympic record with a stunning time of 8 minutes and 52.76 seconds. This surpasses the previous record of 8 minutes and 58.81 seconds set by Russia’s Gulnara Samitova-Galkina during the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Never denied but only redirected
Rejections can be harsh, but they often offer some of the most valuable lessons—an opportunity to learn, grow, and refine your approach.
Yavi “consistently” didn’t qualify for various Kenyan team trials, making her unable to represent the country. She finished fourth at the Kenyan Trials for the 2015 African Youth Championships and third at the trials for the 2015 World Youth Championships.
“I was ready to run for my country but I found it difficult to make the team,” she said.
After that, she took the offer to join Bahrain.
“People questioned the move; some people were worried if I would live up to my dreams and deliver. It was complicated because everyone had something different to say. I was still not a professional, but I was able to handle it,” she added.
In the future, Yavi wants to spend the rest of her career on something other than the steeplechase due to the risk of injuries. She is planning to move slowly towards the 5000m and 10,000m.
Yavi achieved a historic milestone by becoming the third athlete to secure a gold medal for Bahrain. She followed in the footsteps of Ruth Jebet, who had previously nailed the women’s 3,000m crown at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
In 2023, Yavi became the first athlete from Bahrain to win a steeplechase medal at the world championships, taking gold in Budapest, Hungary.
The Kenyan athlete is also a three-time Asian Games gold medalist who won the steeplechase in 2018 and did the steeplechase/1500m double at the 2022 Asian Games held in 2023.
Photo credits: @Olympics / X