Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
sent a delegation to compete at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
in
Sydney, Australia, which were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the fifth consecutive Summer Olympics the Kingdom took part in. The delegation consisted of four athletes: sprinter
Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli, middle-distance runner
Mohamed Saleh Naji Haidara and short-distance swimmers
Dawood Yosuf Mohamed Jassim and
Fatema Hameed Gerashi. Al Hilli and Gerashi's inclusion in the Bahraini delegation was the first time in history a
Gulf Arab nation had sent female athletes to the Olympic Games. All four did not progress beyond the initial heats of their respective competitions. Bahrain's best performance came from Haidara and Jassim who placed seventh in the heats of the
men's 800 metres and the
men's 100 metres freestyle. Gerashi was disqualified for a
false start
In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can result ...
in the
women's 50 metres freestyle and Al Hilli came eighth in her heat in the
women's 100 metres.
Background
The
Bahrain Olympic Committee
Bahrain Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية البحرينية, IOC code: BRN) is the National Olympic Committee representing Bahrain as a member of the International Olympic Committee. It was formed in 1978 and received off ...
was recognised by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) on 1 January 1979. The Kingdom debuted at the
Summer Olympic Games at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
, and Sydney is their fifth consecutive appearance in a Summer Olympiad.
At the time of the Sydney Games, no Bahraini athlete had ever won a medal at the Summer Olympics.
[ The 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000.
Of the 10,651 athletes representing 199 ]National Olympic Committees
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Gam ...
, Bahrain sent four: sprinter Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli, middle-distance runner Mohamed Saleh Naji Haidara and short-distance swimmers Dawood Yosuf Mohamed Jassim and Fatema Hameed Gerashi. Al Hilli and Hameed were the debut female Olympians from a Gulf Arab nation. Jassim was the flag bearer
A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...
of the national flag of Bahrain at the Parade of Nations
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...
.[
]
Athletics
Mohamed Saleh Naji Haidara was 25 years old at the time of the Sydney Summer Games and was making his only appearance in the Olympics. He made the Games by using a wild card because his best time for the men's 800 metres of one minute and 50.57 seconds, set at a meet in the Czech capital of Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
in June 2000, was 3.37 seconds slower than the "B" qualifying standard for that event. On 23 September, the first round of the men's 800 meters was held and Haidara was allocated heat six. He finished the race in seventh place and last out of all the finishing runners with a time of one minute and 56.64 seconds. However, only the top two from a heat and the eight next fastest overall from all ten heats were allowed to advance to the semi-finals, and Haidara was eliminated, the slowest overall time being a one minute and 59.97 seconds from Marvin Watts of Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
At the age of 16, Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli was also debuting at the Sydney Summer Olympics and this competition was her only appearance at the Olympic Games. She was permitted to run in the women's 100 metres by using a wild card offered to her by the IOC since she did not meet the qualifying standards for the competition and her father was consulted on this. Before the Games, Al Hilli said, "I'm really charged up and I want to do my best for my country. But at the same time, more than the pressure to win, I would say there is this sense of being a part of history in the making. I don't think anyone expects us to win we are going as part of Bahrain's new movement to encourage women's sports." She was drawn in the eighth heat on 22 September, finishing eighth and last of all athletes, with a personal best time of 13.98 seconds, after a false start
In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can result ...
. Only the top three from each heat, plus the next two fastest between all ten heats could advance, and so Al Hilli was eliminated.
Key
Swimming
Competing in his first and only Summer Olympics, 20-year old Dawood Yosuf Mohamed Jassim was the youngest man to compete on behalf of Bahrain at the Sydney Games. He received a universality place from the world governing body of swimming, FINA
FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
, because his entry time of one minute and 10 seconds was 17.41 seconds slower than the "B" (FINA/Olympic Invitation) time needed to attain automatic qualification for the men's 100 metre freestyle. In the first round of Jassim's contest, he was drawn to swim in the second heat on 19 September. He completed the race in a time of one minute and 2.45 seconds, which put him seventh and last of all the swimmers in his heat. Jassim placed 70th out of 71 finishing athletes overall and this meant he did not progress to the semifinals since only the top 16 were permitted to advance to that stage.
Fatema Hameed Gerashi was the youngest athlete of any event and of any nationality to compete at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics at the age of 12. She was also the first Olympic female athlete from a Gulf Arab nation. The IOC gave Gerashi a wild card and she was granted permission by her parents to compete in Sydney. She began swimming at the age of seven and later joined the Bahrain Swimming Association.[ However, local Muslim customs forbade Hameed from swimming with men until she began training at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.][ On 22 September, Gerash swam in heat one of the women's 50 metre freestyle event and swam against two competitors.] She finished second with a time of 51.15 seconds but officials disqualified her because she wobbled on the starting blocks, which was deemed a false start despite her not being the first competitor to enter the water. Although Gerashi was disappointed, she said, "It felt great. But I was very scared on the blocks. My heart was going very fast. I was thinking about all the training I'd done and trying to make my family happy."[ She received praise from the press for competing in the Games as it was reportedly part of the Bahraini government's stated effort to promote "equality in sport".][
]
See also
* Bahrain at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Notes
References
External links
Official Olympic Reports
{{Portal bar, Bahrain, Olympics
Nations at the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
2000 in Bahraini sport