Paris, His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC), arrived in Paris today to attend the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 33rd edition of the Olympic Games will officially kick off tomorrow, Friday, and continue until August 11. This marks the third time that Paris will host the Games, following its previous hosting in 1900 and 1924, since the inaugural edition in 1896.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place outside the stadiums for the first time, with 85 boats sailing along the River Seine for a distance of more than 6 kilometres.
Bahrain is participating for the eleventh time in the Summer Olympic Games, which started in 1979. Bahrain’s Olympic debut was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and it has participated in every subsequent edition, most recently the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
During its participation in the last Olympic Games, Bahrain won a total of four medals; two gold and two silver. Runner Maryam Jamal became the first Bahraini and
woman in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to win an Olympic medal for the Kingdom, securing gold in the 1500-metre race. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, runner Ruth Jebet claimed the gold medal in the 3000-metre steeplechase, runner Eunice Kirwa won the silver medal in the marathon, and runner Kalkidan Gezahegne earned the silver medal in the 10,000-metre race.
Bahrain is participating in the Paris 2024 Olympics in five sports, including judo and weightlifting for the first time. It is competing in wrestling for the second time after the Rio 2016 Olympics. The Kingdom will also compete in swimming, in which it partook in seven Olympic editions (Los Angeles 1984, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020). Athletics has been present in all editions and remains the only sport in which Bahrain has won Olympic medals to date.
The Kingdom is represented at the Paris Olympics by 14 athletes (8 females and 6 males). The athletics team comprises 8 runners: Birhanu Balew (5,000 and 10,000
meters), Salwa Eid Nasser (400 meters), Oluwakemi Adekoya (400 meters hurdles), Winfred Yavi (3,000 meters steeplechase), Nelly Jepkosgei (800 meters), Eunice Chumba (marathon), Rose Chelimo (marathon), and Tigist Gashaw (marathon).
Bahrain will be represented by Gor Minasyan in weightlifting in the over 102kg category and Lesman Paredes Montano in the under 102kg category.
The swimming team includes Saud Ghali, who will compete in the 200-metre breaststroke, and Amani Al Obaidli, who will compete in the 100-metre backstroke.
In judo, Bahrain will be represented by Askerbey Jerbekoff in the under 81kg weight class, and in wrestling Ahmed Tajeddin in the under 97kg weight class.
The official delegation, which will include members of the Board of Directors of BOC, heads of participating sports federations, and a representative of the General Sports Authority (GSA), will arrive in Paris today. The delegation members include Faris Mustafa Al Kooheji, Secretary General of BOC; Nibras Mohammed Ali Taleb, member
of the Board of Directors of GSA; Eshaq Ibrahim Eshaq, member of the Board of Directors of BOC and President of the Weightlifting Federation; Ali Isa Ishaqi, member of the Board of Directors BOC; and Counselor Dr. Mohammed Mujbel, President of the Bahrain Swimming Association.
The swimmers Saud Ghali and Amani Al Obaidli will have the honour of carrying the Kingdom’s flag during the parade of participating countries at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee has mandated that both a male and female athlete be selected to carry the flag, promoting gender equality, replacing the tradition where only male athletes had carried the flag in previous editions.
Swimmer Saud Salah Ghali started his international career with notable achievements at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) swimming championship in Doha, Qatar in 2016, since which he won multiple medals in Gulf and Arab competitions. He was selected for the Champion Making programme
, overseen by the Olympic Committee, which facilitated his scholarship to Hungary for academic studies and professional training at a prestigious university.
Swimmer Amani Al Obaidli, began her international career in 2023 when she participated for the first time in the 2023 Arab Sports Games. She continued to compete in Arab and Gulf tournaments, winning numerous medals. She currently resides in Australia, where she is focused on both her studies and training.
Source: Bahrain News Agency