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Kenyan-born Bahraini Winfred Yavi has been shortlisted for a major recognition in the Middle East as the Asian region continues to celebrate her track success.
Olympics 3,000m steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi has been named among Middle East personalities nominated for the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 in Asia this year.
Yavi, who claimed gold in the 3,000m steeplechase in an Olympics record time of 8:52.76, has been recognised not just for her outstanding performances but the big bucks she has earned courtesy of her track success, as well as her impact on society.
The Kenyan-born Bahraini has become a mega star in Asia after delivering gold for her country at the 2023 World Championships as well as the Olympics gold, a first for Bahrain on track.
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Yavi was listed in the Sports and Entertainment category where she will contest the award with 30 other young achievers in the region with the winner set to be feted at the Middle East Forbes Under 30 Summit set to take place in Abu Dhabi from December 10-11.
Yavi is among 13 Asian athletes who won medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, including her Bahrain compatriot Salwa Eid Naser, the Olympics 400m silver medallist, Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, who claimed bronze in 800m at the Paris Games and Algeria boxer Imane Khelif, who won gold amid uproar over her gender.
“In making our judgments, we took into account qualitative information, such as the impact that candidates have had on their industry, market, or society and their future potential,” Forbes said regarding the criteria used to settle on the nominees.
“We also looked at quantifiable data such as funds raised, awards won, revenues achieved, the value of deals, the number of people impacted, the number of customers, and the number of followers on social media.”
Yavi, who ditched Kenya for Bahrain when she was 15 before becoming eligible to run for the country in 2016, has enjoyed a meteoric rise, starting with eighth place (2017) then back-to-back fourth place finishes at the World Championships in 2019 and 2022 before her gold medal in 2023.
She has been rewarded handsomely for bringing success to Bahrain and was awarded Ksh53 million by her country for claiming Olympics gold this year.
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