INCHEON South Korea (Reuters) - Ethiopian-born Maryam Yusuf Jamal thanked Bahrain for giving her the chance to earn a living from athletics on Wednesday and told Reuters that her Asian Games 1,500 metres gold medal was down to intensive training, not which country she originated from.
Several oil-rich Gulf states, including Bahrain and Qatar, have achieved overnight athletics success by recruiting fleet-footed young Africans, who are free to compete at international level after meeting eligibility and residency requirements.