İlham Tanui Özbilen (born William Biwott Tanui on 5 March 1990 in Kocholwo,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

) is a

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 15 ...

now representing

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. The tall athlete weighs . He is coached by Kenyan Patrick Sang.

Career in Kenya

Özbilen, then competing as William Biwott Tanui, won the 1500 metres at the 2009 World Athletics Final in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. He holds the current world junior record in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

with his clocking of 3:49.29 minutes, achieved in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

on 3 July 2009. He was also part of the Kenyan team (with

Gideon Gathimba Gideon Gathimba (born 9 March 1980) is a Kenyan middle distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. He finished fourth at the 2008 World Athletics Final and fifth at the 2009 World Athletics Final. His personal best times are 3:33.63 ...

, Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono and Augustine Kiprono Choge) that set a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

of 14:36.23 in the rarely contested 4 x 1500 metres relay at the 2009

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond Le ...

Golden League meeting in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

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. While he would normally have been ineligible to internationally represent his adoptive country until 8 June 2013, it was announced in February 2012 that he had received permission from the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

(IAAF) to compete for Turkey starting with the 2012 World Indoor Championships in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. 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 Turkey competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era since its debut in 1908. Turkey, however, did not attend the 1920 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 The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...

held in Mersin, Turkey, he became gold medalist in the 1500 m event. At the

2013 Islamic Solidarity Games The 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games was an international sporting event held in Palembang, Indonesia from 22 September to 1 October 2013. The 2009 event, originally scheduled to take place in Iran, and later re-scheduled for April 2010, was cancelle ...

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. 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 Jakub Holuša (, born 20 February 1988) is a former Czech middle-distance runner. He represented his country in the men's 800 meters at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 2016 Olympics, he competed in the 1500 meters. Running career Holu ...

, the national record holder in the 1500 metres for the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

World records

* 4x1500 m relay: 14:36.23 minutes (2009,

)

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozbilen, Ilham Tanui 1990 births Living people People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Kenyan male middle-distance runners Turkish male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Turkey Naturalized citizens of Turkey Kenyan emigrants to Turkey Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics IAAF World Athletics Final winners Islamic Solidarity Games competitors for Turkey