Ruth Jebet (born 17 November 1996) is a Kenyan-born

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

and

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

specialist who competes internationally for

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. She was the world record holder and was the 2016

Olympic gold medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medali ...

in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

, 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 The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

and the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

at the Kenyan high school championships. The teenager excelled in her debut outing for Bahrain, coming second in the

to Moroccan Olympian

Salima El Ouali Alami Salima Elouali Alami (born 29 December 1983) is a Morocco, Moroccan athlete. She was born in Karia Ba Mohamed. She competed in the Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 3000 metres steeplechase, 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 201 ...

at the

2013 Arab Athletics Championships The 2013 Arab Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the international athletics competition between Arab countries that took place in Doha, Qatar from 21–24 May 2013. Syria was excluded from the event because of the ongoing civil ...

. 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 The 2013 Asian Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the biennial athletics (sport), athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, India between 3–7 July. Ar ...

, where she seized the lead from the start and never relinquished her position. She defeated pre-race favourite and

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

champion

Sudha Singh Sudha Singh (born 25 June 1986) is an Indian Olympic athlete in the 3000 metres steeplechase event. A national record holder in the event, she has represented India at international events since 2005. Singh is an Asian Champion in the discipli ...

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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, she became the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic gold medal by winning the

3000m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

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 Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi (born 13 January 1992) is a Kenyan steeplechase runner. She won gold at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics and 2011 All-Africa Games, and bronze at the 2017 World Championships and 2012 African Championships in Athlet ...

, who ran 9:07.12 to take silver, and American

Emma Coburn Emma Jane Coburn (born October 19, 1990) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000-meters steeplechase. She holds the distinction of being a world champion, world silver medalist, Olympic bronze medalist, three-time Olymp ...

, who ran 9:07.63 to capture the bronze. On 27 August 2016, at the Paris stage of the

2016 IAAF Diamond League The 2016 IAAF Diamond League was the seventh season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The 2016 series saw three changes to the format. One of the ...

, Jebet smashed the existing 3000-metres steeplechase

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

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 The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

gold medalist and world record holder

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...

, running for Kenya, was paid about 1 million Kenyan shillings, about $10,000 USD.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jebet, Ruth Living people 1996 births Kenyan female long-distance runners Bahraini female long-distance runners Kenyan female steeplechase runners Kenyan emigrants to Bahrain Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Bahraini female steeplechase runners Asian Games gold medalists for Bahrain Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Bahrain Foreign-born athletes of Bahrain Olympic gold medalists for Bahrain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics record holders Olympic female steeplechase runners Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Diamond League winners Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in athletics Asian Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games Islamic Solidarity Games bronze medalists for Bahrain Arab Athletics Championships winners