Thread: Players to watch out for at Doha Asia Games
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 Old 25 Nov 06, 12:08 PM
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Default Re: Players to watch out for at Doha Asia Games
Jamal blossoms on the world stage


Profile: Maryam Yusuf Jamal (Bahrain)
Athletics (800m, 1500m, 5000m)


Golden girl: Will Maryam Yusuf Jamal be celebrating in Doha?

Born 16 September 1984 in the same Ethiopian village as her idol Haile Gebrselassie, Zenebech Tola Kotu, as she was then known, was a latecomer to the world of athletics and only started running aged 15 in a trial organised by her school. She competed though not in the middle distances she is now associated with, but the sprint disciplines and even the high jump.

It was only a year later that Tola graduated into middle distance running by joining the Muger Club in Addis-Ababa and then narrowly failed to make the Ethiopian junior team for the World Cross Country Championships in 2001. She finished 3rd in the 1500m at the national junior championships next year and was invited to compete in races in Switzerland.

Tola took up the offer and won many events in this mix of road races and half marathons, prompting her to decide to base herself in Lausanne and file for political asylum in May 2002. She joined the Stade Lausanne Athlétisme club, but was fast becoming disillusioned with the sport and convinced that her future lay away from the track.

Her partner Mnashu Taye persuaded her to persevere and she duly achieved the 1500m Olympic qualifying time in 2004, prompting her to try and run for Ethiopia in the Athens Olympics. This request was turned down, as would be her subsequent application for Swiss citizenship due to their strict length of residency requirement.

Tola was confined to racing within Switzerland, but she continued to train hard hoping to find a solution to the problem. One duly arrived in the form of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who offered her and her partner citizenship. In January 2005 Zenebech Tola Kotu became Maryam Yusuf Jamal, although she still lives and trains in Switzerland.


Maryam Yusuf Jamal should be able to deliver the results given her current form

Jamal quickly made a name for herself on the international stage, particularly on the track, with 22 wins from 26 races in her first season. The 2005 World Championships were one to forget, however, after she was badly spiked and faded to 5th in the 1500m, but she bounced back well to win the 800m, 1500m and 5000m titles at the Pan Arab Games in Tunis.

She ended the year with a world best time of 3:56.79 for the 1500m in Rieti and after a slow start to 2006 due to illnesses, Jamal has enjoyed a successful track season with victories over the distance in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Final in Stuttgart and the IAAF World Cup in Athens, the latter in a World Cup record of 4:00.84.

Jamal is now focused on the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 and winning two gold medals for her adopted country, which few would bet against given her rapid rise over the last couple of years.
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