Tokyo, Japan, August 7, 2021: Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne won the Kingdom’s first medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Saturday night by clinching silver in the women’s 10,000 metres final at Tokyo Olympic Stadium.
The 30-year-old Kalkidan ran a brilliant race to finish in a time of 29 minutes 56.18 seconds. She was right behind gold medallist Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who won gold in 29:55.32.
World record-holder Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, who was leading for much of the event, came third in 30:01.72 for bronze.
Kalkidan stormed to a fine finish after pacing herself amongst the leaders for much of the distance. She and Hassan then closed the race out with a devastating kick that left Gidey unable to challenge over the home straight.
Kalkidan’s silver medal was her first in the Olympic Games. It is also Bahrain’s fourth medal in the history of the Olympiad. All four medals have come in women’s athletics.
The Bahrain runner completed a 1,500m/5,000m double at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018.
Sifan Hassan has enjoyed an incredible Olympics on the track, with a golden double in the 5,000m and 10,000m and a bronze in the 1,500m.