Sports

Bahrain's first Olympic medal ever is gold

by julianw | August 20, 2008 at 01:37 pm

394 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

Bahrain, a 250-square-mile nation with 708,000 inhabitants and an anthem called Bahrainona, has been awarded its first ever Olympic medal, as Rashid Ramzi won gold in the men's 1,500-meter race.

Some 91,000 fans stood up to see the red and white flag of Bahrain run up the flagpole at the Bird’s Nest and to hear “Bahrainona,” the Bahraini anthem, resound Wednesday night.

Ramzi, 28, moved to Bahrain from Morocco in 2001. He won world titles at 800 and 1,500 meters in 2005, but the victory on Wednesday has topped everything.

He lives in Bahrain for part of the year, but, he said, “It’s too hot to train there on a regular basis.” So he heads back to Morocco –- his homeland, but also that of an Olympic 1,500-meter predecessor, Hicham El Guerrouj — and trains on familiar turf. He continues to say, “I am a Moroccan, I was born a Moroccan.”

Nevertheless, it is the Bahraini flag that is hoisted, and the gold and the glory are headed for the Persian Gulf.