İlham Tanui Özbilen
Personal information
Birth nameWilliam Biwott Tanui
Nationality Turkey
Born (1990-03-05) 5 March 1990
Kocholwo, Keiyo District, Kenya
Height1.77 m (5.8 ft)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
SportMiddle-distance
Coached byPatrick Sang  Kenya
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Turkey
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2012 Istanbul1500 m
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2013 Gothenburg1500 m
Silver medal – second place2015 Prague1500 m
European Team Championships
Gold medal – first place2013 Gateshead 1500 m
Silver medal – second place2013 Gateshead 800 m
Islamic Solidarity Games
Gold medal – first place2013 Palembang1500 m
Silver medal – second place2013 Palembang 4×400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2013 Palembang 800 m
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place2013 Mersin 800 m
Gold medal – first place2013 Mersin 1500 m

İlham Tanui Özbilen (born William Biwott Tanui on 5 March 1990 in Kocholwo, Kenya) is a middle distance runner now representing Turkey. The 1.77 m (5.8 ft) tall athlete weighs 60 kg (130 lb).[1] He is coached by Kenyan Patrick Sang.[2]

Career in Kenya

Özbilen, then competing as William Biwott Tanui, won the 1500 metres at the 2009 World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece.[3] He holds the current world junior record in the mile run with his clocking of 3:49.29 minutes, achieved in Oslo on 3 July 2009.[4] He was also part of the Kenyan team (with Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono and Augustine Kiprono Choge) that set a new world record of 14:36.23 in the rarely contested 4 x 1500 metres relay at the 2009 Memorial Van Damme Golden League meeting in Brussels, Belgium.[5]

Turkish citizenship

He switched allegiance to Turkey in June 2011, changing his name to İlham Tanui Özbilen. His surname was given him by his godfather and manager Önder Özbilen, who persuaded him in December 2010 in Kenya to immigrate to Turkey. He moved in February 2011 to Turkey, and was naturalized on 8 June 2011.[2][6] While he would normally have been ineligible to internationally represent his adoptive country until 8 June 2013,[6][7] it was announced in February 2012 that he had received permission from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to compete for Turkey starting with the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.[1][7][8][9]

İlham Tanui Özbilen won the silver medal for Turkey in the 1500 m event at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey. Özbilen also represented Turkey at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he made the final of the 1500 meters, finishing 8th, with a time of 3:36.72. At the 2013 Mediterranean Games held in Mersin, Turkey, he became gold medalist in the 1500 m event.

At the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Palembang, Indonesia, he won a gold medal in the 1500 m event, a bronze medal in the 800 m event and a silver medal in the 4x400 m relay event with his teammates Batuhan Altıntaş, Halit Kılıç and Mehmet Güzel.[10]

In 2015, Özbilen competed in the 1500 metres at the European Indoor Championships. He came second place with a time 3:37.74, behind Jakub Holuša, the national record holder in the 1500 metres for the Czech Republic.

World records

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Kenya
2009 World Athletics Final Thessaloniki, Greece 1st 1500 m 3:35.04
Representing  Turkey
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 2nd 1500 m 3:45.35
2013 European Team Championships Super League Gateshead, United Kingdom 2nd 800 m 1:47.39
1st 1500 m 3:38.57
European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 2nd 1500 m 3:37.22
Mediterranean Games Mersin, Turkey 1st 800 m 1:44.00 GR
1st 1500 m 3:35.09
Islamic Solidarity Games Palembang, Indonesia 3rd 800 m 1:45.65
1st 1500 m 3:39.69
2nd 4×400 m relay 3:06.43
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 2nd 1500 m 3:37.74
World Championships Beijing, China 22nd (sf) 1500 m 3:45.70
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 35th (h) 1500 m 3:49.02
2018 Mediterranean Games Tarragona, Spain 11th 1500 m 3:48.27

References

  1. 1 2 "Tanui ve Kemboi için onay çıktı". Birgün (in Turkish). 2 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Türkiye vatanım!". HT Spor (in Turkish). 11 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Ilham Tanui Özbilen at World Athletics
  4. ↑ "World Junior Records - Men". IAAF. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  5. ↑ David Powell (4 September 2009). "Oldest World record goes down in Brussels as Kenya dominates 4x1500". IAAF. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  6. 1 2 "IAAF News - Newsletter" (PDF). IAAF. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  7. 1 2 Butler, Mark. "14th IAAF World Championships - Biographical Entry List" (pdf). IAAF. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "Turkish athletes of Kenyan origin on board national team". Today's Zaman. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "IAAF'tan iyi haber!" (in Turkish). Sporx. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "Athletics-Results". The 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
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