BEIJING, Aug 19: Rashid Ramzi handed Bahrain its first-ever Olympic medal when he won the men's 1500 metres gold medal at the Beijing Games on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old Moroccan-born runner won in 3min 32.94sec, outsprinting the field for the Gulf country's first medal in six Olympic Games since Los Angeles in 1984.

Kenya's Asbel Kipruto Kiprop claimed silver in 3:33.11 with New Zealand’s Nicholas Willis the bronze in 3:34.16.

Ramzi’s win made up for his semi-final exit at the Athens Games four years ago and replicated the form that saw him become the first athlete since New Zealand's Peter Snell in the 1964 Olympics to do the 800/1500m double in a global championships when he achieved that in the 2005 world championships.—AFP