Maryam Yusuf Jamal

Maryam Yusuf Jamal (Arabic: مريم يوسف جمال; Oromo: Maaryaam Yuusuf Jamaal) (born Zenebech Tola) (born 16 September 1984) is an Ethiopian-born Bahraini middle-distance runner. She is the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic medal, a gold (originally bronze, but later upgraded after two doping violations by other competitors) in the 1,500m women's race, in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. This was also the first Olympic medal won by a woman representing a Gulf state. Born in Ethiopia, 2005 was her first full season. She gained the national record and ran the fastest 3000 m of the year, with a time of 8:28.87 at a race in Oslo. Jamal is a two-time world champion in the 1,500 m, having won at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

She represented Bahrain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, finishing fifth in the 1,500 m final. Jamal has also had much success at regional competitions: winning two gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games in addition to the Asian Cross Country Championships in both 2007 and 2009.