Winfred Mutile Yavi OLY[citation needed] (Arabic: وينفريد يافي, born 31 December 1999)[1] is a Kenyan-born Bahraini female athlete who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Currently the second fastest athlete in history at the distance with a personal best of 8:44.39, she won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, setting a new Olympic record. She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Winfred Mutile Yavi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Nairobi, Kenya | December 31, 1999||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 49 kg (108 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Bahrain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 3000 metres steeplechase | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal bests |
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Medal record
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Career
editYavi hails from Ukia, Makueni County.[2] Born in Kenya, Winfred Yavi transferred her allegiance to Bahrain at the age of fifteen, becoming eligible to compete for her adopted nation in August 2016.[3] She competed in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2017 World Championships at the age of 17, and finished eighth in a personal best time of 9:22.67.[1] Yavi was the bronze medallist in her specialist event at the 2018 World Under-20 Championships.[4] She also improved her personal best significantly in 2018, running 9:10.74 at the Monaco Diamond League.
In 2019, Yavi won gold in both the 5000 m and 3000 m steeplechase, as well as a bronze in the 1500 m at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships.[5] She set a new personal best of 9:07.23 in finishing third at the Müller Grand Prix. She finished fourth in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2019 World Championships held in Doha.[6] She won a gold medal in the 3000 m steeplechase and a silver medal in the 5000 m at the World Military Games.[1]
Yavi ran a new personal best of 9:02.64 in finishing third at the 2021 Doha Diamond League.[7] She finished tenth in the final at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[8]
In 2022, Yavi ran her first sub-9 minute 3000 m steeplechase at the Prefontaine Classic, running a time of 8:58.71. She followed this up by winning the Paris Diamond League with a time of 8:56.55.[9] She finished fourth in the final at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene.[10]
The following year, Yavi won gold in her specialty event at the 2023 World Championships with a personal best time of 8:54.29.[11] She went onto win at the Zurich Diamond League,[12] and the Prefontaine Classic where she improved her personal best to 8:50.66, the second fastest time in history at the time.[13] Yavi ended her season by winning gold in both the 1500 m and 3000 m steeplechase at the Asian Games.[14][15]
In June 2024, Yavi set a new 5000 m personal best of 14:41.99 in Liège.[16] She won gold in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2024 Paris Olympics in an Olympic record time of 8:52.76.[17][18] She won at the Rome Diamond League in a time of 8:44.39, breaking her own national record by over 6 seconds and only missing out on the world record by 0.07 seconds.[19] Yavi went on to place second at the Diamond League final in Brussels, finishing behind Faith Cherotich.[20]
Statistics
editAll information from World Athletics profile.[1]
Personal bests
edit- 1500 metres – 4:05.54 (Nairobi 2022)
- 3000 metres – 9:10.5h (Embu 2016)
- 3000 metres indoor – 8:39.64 (Val-de-Reuil 2020) Asian record
- 2000 metres steeplechase – 5:56.83 (Berlin 2019) AB
- 3000 metres steeplechase – 8:44.39 AR (Rome 2024)
International competitions
editYear | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
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2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 8th | 3000 m s'chase | 9:22.67 | PB |
2018 | World U20 Championships | Tampere, Finland | 3rd | 3000 m s'chase | 9:23.47 | |
Asian Games | Jakarta, Indonesia | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:36.52 | ||
Continental Cup | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 3rd | 3000 m s'chase | 9:17.86 | [note 1] | |
2019 | Arab Championships | Cairo, Egypt | 1st | 5000 m | 17:15.08 | |
1st | 3000 m s'chase | 10:07.62 | ||||
Asian Championships | Doha, Qatar | 3rd | 1500 m | 4:16.18 | SB | |
1st | 5000 m | 15:28.87 | PB | |||
1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:46.18 | SB | |||
World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 4th | 3000 m s'chase | 9:05.68 | PB | |
Military World Games | Wuhan, China | 2nd | 5000 m | 15:15.93 | ||
1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:19.24 | ||||
2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 10th | 3000 m s'chase | 9:19.74 | [note 2] |
2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 4th | 3000 m s'chase | 9:01.31 | |
Islamic Solidarity Games | Konya, Turkey | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:34:57 | ||
2023 | Arab Games | Oran, Algeria | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:04.58 | |
World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 8:54.29 | ||
Asian Games | Hangzhou, China | 1st | 1500 m | 4:11.65 | ||
1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:18.28 | ||||
2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 8:52.76 | OR PB |
Circuit wins
edit- 3000 m steeplechase wins, other events specified in parentheses
- 2022: Paris Meeting (WL PB)
- 2023: Doha Diamond League (WL)
Notes
edit- ^ Representing Asia-Pacific.
- ^ In the heats Yavi ran 9:10.80.
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Winfred Mutile YAVI – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ Anirudh (10 August 2024). "Why does Kenyan-born Winfred Yavi compete for Bahrain? Everything about the athlete who broke the women's 3000m steeplechase Olympic record in Paris". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "ELIGIBILITY - TRANSFER OF ALLEGIANCE (Transfers that have taken place from 25 April to 29 June 2016)". IAAF. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ "3000 Metres Steeplechase Women - Final" (PDF). World Athletics. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Ramsak, Bob (23 April 2019). "Bahrain and China continue their dominance at Asian Championships in Doha". World Athletics. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ Mulkeen, Jon (30 September 2019). "Report: women's 3000m steeplechase - IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "Results - 3000m Steeplechase Women" (PDF). doha.diamondleague.com. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "Results" (PDF). World Athletics. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "5 Thoughts on Paris Diamond League – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Still Has it, Winfred Yavi 8:56 Steeple". Letsrun.com. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "Jeruto leads fast final, breaking championship record to win world steeplechase gold". World Athletics. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Turnbull, Simon (27 August 2023). "Yavi makes a splash with steeplechase gold in Budapest". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Goh, ZK (31 August 2023). "Zurich Diamond League 2023: World champions from Budapest 23 shine in Switzerland". olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Whittington, Jess (16 September 2023). "Ingebrigtsen and Yavi shine as records fall on day one of Diamond League Final". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "World champion Yavi takes charge in Hangzhou as Hadadi's long reign ends". France 24. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Omotto, Joel (3 October 2023). "Kenyan-born Bahraini Winfred Mutile Yavi bags handsome amount from winning two gold medals at Asian Games". Pulse Sports. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Almaskati, Hussain (21 June 2024). "Winfred Yavi breaks personal record in 5,000 metres". News of Bahrain. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ de Villiers, Ockert (6 August 2024). "Paris 2024 athletics: Bahrain's Winfred Yavi races to Olympic record for women's 3,000m steeplechase gold". olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Satish, A.K.S (7 August 2024). "It's just the beginning, Bahrain's Winfred Yavi warns after steeplechase gold". Gulf News. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Henderson, Jason (31 August 2024). "Winfred Yavi and Ackera Nugent take barriers in their stride in Rome". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ Chuma, Festus (14 September 2024). "Faith Cherotich stuns Olympics champion Winfred Yavi to claim steeplechase Diamond League title". Pulse Sports. Retrieved 1 December 2024.