Africa-born stars propel Bahrain
ALL 10 INDIVIDUAL ATHLETICS GOLD WON BY BAHRAIN WERE EARNED BY RUNNERS BORN ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT — NIGERIA, ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND MOROCCO
JAKARTA: The tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain finished joint-top of the Asian Games athletics table with 12 gold — but not everyone is rushing to congratulate them.
That is because not a single track win at Asia’s regional Olympics would have been achieved without “naturalised” athletes who were born in Africa.
Bahrain’s policy of scouting and offering nationality to talented foreign athletes — which is entirely legal — has stoked controversy for years, but the results have been particularly stark at this Games in Indonesia.
All 10 individual athletics gold won by Bahrain were earned by runners born on the African continent — Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Morocco. Of the two gold-winning relays teams, all but two athletes were also of African origin.
For the athletes themselves, the appeal of switching allegiance is obvious -- financial security is key, but tales of poor treatment or lack of opportunities in their countries of birth are commonplace. “Bahrain was good pay, a good treatment,” explained 1,500m and 5,000m gold winner Kalkidan Befkadu, 27, who moved six years ago.
“There’s so many strong athletes in Ethiopia so it’s a challenge to compete, so that’s also why I changed.”
But for athletes from other nations who ended up with silver, bronze or empty-handed after falling behind African-born competitors, there is a sense the competition has been distorted.
India’s Dutee Chand -- who had to fight a legal battle to even compete in Jakarta due to her high testosterone levels -- twice missed out on gold, in the 100m and 200m, to Nigerian-born Edidiong Odiong.
DEFENSIVE BAHRAIN
Rules on naturalising athletes vary. But Bahrain officials have defended their recruiting methods, citing the vast resources they pour into athletes’ training. “It is not nationality that brings us medals, but the training and technical and administrative effort,” said Bader Nasser, manager of the Bahrain Athletics Federation. “Naturalisation is a legitimate right and we are committed to the laws.”
Nasser also said Bahrain does not import athletes who are already established, claiming his coaches are “bringing them young and training them to reach world championships”.