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Ruth Jebet

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Bahraini steeplechase and long-distance runner of Kenyan descent
Ruth Jebet
Personal information
NationalityBahraini
Born (1996-11-17) 17 November 1996 (age 28)
Kenya
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight51 kg (112 lb)
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventSteeplechase
Achievements and titles
Personal best
  • 3000 m steeplechase: 8:52.78
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 3000 m steeplechase
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Oregon 3000 m steeplechase
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Pune 3000 m steeplechase

Ruth Jebet (born 17 November 1996) is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner and steeplechase specialist who competes internationally for Bahrain. She was the world record holder and was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 3000 metres steeplechase, both achieved before turning 20. In 2018 she was suspended for testing positive for EPO.

Career

Jebet took the opportunity to run for Bahrain at the age of sixteen, transferring her eligibility in February 2013. In April she won the 3000 metres and the 5000 metres at the Kenyan high school championships.

The teenager excelled in her debut outing for Bahrain, coming second in the 3000 metres steeplechase to Moroccan Olympian Salima El Ouali Alami at the 2013 Arab Athletics Championships. Her time of 9:52.47 minutes was a Bahraini national record for the event. She improved upon her own mark that July at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships, where she seized the lead from the start and never relinquished her position. She defeated pre-race favourite and Asian Games champion Sudha Singh by more than fifteen seconds and her time of 9:40.84 minutes was a new championship record. This time ranked her as the top Asia steeplechase runner that year.

In 2014, still only 17, she won the World Junior Championship ahead of two other Kenyan girls. That same month at the Weltklasse Zurich with older competition, she set the Asian continental record at 9:20.55, missing the World junior record by only 0.13 of a second (ranking her #31 of all time).

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, she became the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic gold medal by winning the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:59.75 making her the second fastest within the event of all time. She finished ahead of Kenya's Hyvin Jepkemoi, who ran 9:07.12 to take silver, and American Emma Coburn, who ran 9:07.63 to capture the bronze.

On 27 August 2016, at the Paris stage of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League, Jebet smashed the existing 3000-metres steeplechase world record running at 8:52.78, more than six seconds faster than the old record.

In March 2018, Jebet became embroiled in a drug-testing scandal when she tested positive for r-EPO (recombinant erythropoietin), a performance-enhancing drug that increases stamina by producing more red blood cells. Her agent at the time, Marc Corstjens, denied any knowledge. Jebet told the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) she had not taken it intentionally, but after a two-year investigation into the matter a disciplinary tribunal in March 2020 ruled against her, handing down a four-year suspension, which began on 18 February 2018, and stripped Jebet of all her results from 1 December 2017 to 4 February 2018. The ruling didn't affect her gold medal from the 2016 Olympics because she won that before testing positive, nor did it affect her 2016 world record performance.

Jebet has been a controversial figure in Kenya because she switched allegiances to run for Bahrain, offending many Kenyans who have accused her of disloyalty. Running for Bahrain she benefits financially far better than if she ran for Kenya. It was reported she received $500,000 USD, (the equivalent to 52 million Kenyan shillings) from the Bahrain government for winning her Olympic gold medal. As point of comparison, two-time 800 metres gold medalist and world record holder David Rudisha, running for Kenya, was paid about 1 million Kenyan shillings, about $10,000 USD.

References

  1. Ruth Chebet. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-12-28.
  2. 18th Arab Championships, Doha (Qatar) 21-24/05/2013. Africa Athle (2013-05-21). Retrieved on 2013-10-07.
  3. Ruth Jebet Wins 3000m Steeplechase Women - Eugene Diamond League Archived 2017-02-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2016-09-10.
  4. Two championship records while China's hurdles legacy continues at the Asian Championships. IAAF (2013-07-06). Retrieved on 2013-12-28.
  5. Ruth Jebet Women's 3000m Steeplechase | Zurich Diamond League Archived 2018-03-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2016-09-10.
  6. "Rio Olympics 2016: Bahrain's Ruth Jebet wins 3,000m steeplechase". BBC Sport. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  7. Ruth Jebet New World Record Women's 3000m Steeplechase | Paris Diamond League. Retrieved on 2016-09-10.
  8. Olympic champion Jebet breaks steeplechase world record Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2016-09-10.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2016-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Olympic champion Ruth Jebet embroiled in drug-testing scandal". TheGuardian.com. 2018-03-04.
  11. "Olympic steeplechase, high jump champions face doping charges". 2018-07-20.
  12. "First Instance Decision". 2020-03-04.
  13. Idris Muktar; Bryony Jones. "Ruth Jebet: Trading countries in the pursuit of Olympic gold". CNN. Retrieved 2018-04-23.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded byGulnara Samitova-Galkina Women's 3000 m Steeplechase
World Record Holder
August 27, 2016 – July 20, 2018 		Succeeded byBeatrice Chepkoech
Olympic champions in women's 3000 metres steeplechase
Asian Games champions in women's 3000 metres steeplechase
Asian Athletics Champions in women's 3000 metres steeplechase
Diamond League champions in women's 3000 metres steeplechase
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