Kenyan-born Winfred Yavi won the women’s 3000m steeplechase race at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, while representing Bahrain.
The 24-year-old recorded a time of 8:52.76, breaking the Olympic record that had been set when the discipline made its Games debut for women in 2008.
In an interview after the race, Yavi narrated how she ended up representing Bahrain and not Kenya as a professional athlete.
Yavi said Bahrain gave her the first priority after she took part in Kenya’s qualification trials but failed on several occasions.
“The reason why I didn’t get the chance to represent my country is that I used to go for the Kenyan team trials, and I didn’t qualify, so I just got this like the first priority. Getting Bahrain was my first priority, but I was ready to represent my country,” she said.
She stated that Kenya has many talented athletes and getting the opportunity to be part of the teams is difficult due to the competition at the trials.
“The competition was stiff; you know in Kenya we have a lot of athletes, and getting the chance to get into the Kenyan athletics team is hard. You can be part of the team, but you will find them selecting like two people only. If you are in position three or four, you are going to miss,” Winfred Yavi said.
Yavi affirmed that she was ready to represent Kenya, but she never got the chance despite training and working hard.
She recalled how she missed representing the Kenyan youth team in 2016 when she came in third position but only two athletes were selected.
“I had worked hard and did thorough training, but I missed out. That is how I got the chance to represent Bahrain, and I took it. So, it came like a first priority,” she stated.
Winfred Yavi on Following Senior Athletes
The gold medalist mentioned that she followed the footsteps of senior professional athletes and other teammates who were progressing in their careers.
“What helped me a lot was working hard secretly. I started performing well, and that has made me win this trophy and become a world champion,” she said.
On how she got the opportunity, Yavi said she was connected by one of the people who was working with Bahrain’s athletics team.
She stated that they held a meeting with her parents and the coach, and they allowed her to move to Bahrain.
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Facing Criticism
However, Winfred Yavi said the decision attracted mixed reactions from her close friends, the people who knew her, and other athletes who had made similar decisions.
She revealed that she faced a lot of challenges, and many people did not take it positively.
According to Yavi, the other athletes were worried if she could run like them and if she could achieve her dream by taking the chance.
“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,” she said.
“By that time, I wasn’t strong, and I was just starting to catch up with the training. I was still not a professional, but I was able to handle it.”
Also Read: Faith Kipyegon Gets Back Her Medal After Appeal
Steeplechase Standings
Winfred Yavi denied Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai a second consecutive Olympic victory and forced Kenya’s Faith Cherotich to settle for bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
World record holder and Commonwealth Games champion Beatrice Chepkoech, Kenyan, finished sixth.
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