ATHLETICS – Elite Bahraini athlete Eunice Chebichii Chumba claimed an impressive third-place finish in the women’s event of the Gifu Half Marathon in Japan.
Competing in only her second road race of the season, Chumba completed the 21.1-kilometre distance just over a minute behind winner Stella Chesang from Uganda, who clocked a mark of one hour seven minutes 59 seconds in first place.
Chumba finished in 1:09:10, not far behind runner-up Dolphine Nyaboke Omare of Kenya, who posted a time of 1:08:31.
The half-marathon was a Gold standard event held as part of the World Athletics Label Road Races. The women’s race featured a field of 30 elite athletes from around the world.
Chumba participated in a top-level half-marathon for the first time in two years. Her finishing mark in Gifu was far from her personal best of 1:06:11 in the distance. She had earlier this season run in the Nagoya Women’s Marathon, also in Japan, in March, when she took second place.
Chumba is one of Bahrain’s top long-distance specialists. The 30-year-old is the reigning Asian Games champion in the women’s marathon. She is expected to be a part of the kingdom’s athletics national team that will be going for gold in the Paris Olympics.
&uuid=(email))