Mohammad Mutlak Khalif Al-Azemi (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: محمد خلف العازمي ; born 16 June 1982) is a

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

i middle distance runner who specialises in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. His 800 m personal bests of 1:44.13 minutes outdoors and 1:48.93 minutes indoors are the Kuwaiti records for the event. He represented his nation at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in 2004, 2008 and 2012, and has also made four appearances at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

(2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011). After a successful career as a youth, he rose to become one of Asia's best middle-distance runners. He was the silver medallist at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and is a three-time Asian Indoor Games medallist. He became the Asian Indoor champion in 2010 and then completed an 800 m/

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

double at the

2011 Asian Athletics Championships The 19th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Kobe, Japan between July 7–10, 2011 at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. The tournament had 507 athletes from forty Asian nations competing in the 42 track and field events over the four- ...

Career

Born in

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

, he was successful in athletics from a young age and won the national under-14 cross country title for his club, Qadsia SC, in 1993. Given his natural talent, he was afforded special support from the Kuwaiti Athletic Federation. He achieved his first international medal at the 1998 Pan Arab Junior Athletics Championships, taking the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

.Pan Arab Junior Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 16 August 2011. Further success came the following year as he took third in the event at the

1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the first edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 16 to July 18, 1999. Results Boys Girls Medal table External links Offic ...

then won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships.Asian Junior Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 16 August 2011. His 2000 and 2001 seasons were disrupted by his need to focus on studying for his high school exams, but he still managed to win the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the Gulf Cooperation Council Championships, finish runner-up at the Arab Junior Championships, and win the 2001 Asian Junior bronze. Illness affected him in 2002, as dust in his home nation was causing him difficulties in training. As a result, he began training abroad instead and a partnership with a new coach, Algerian Abdelkarim Bensaid, saw Al-Azemi achieve Kuwaiti records in 2003. Making his first global appearance at senior level, he ran at the

2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK. There were a total number of 589 participat ...

and set a national record of 1:50.41 minutes. His outdoor season peaked in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

when he ran an outright national record time of 1:47.44 minutes. He ran again at the

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were re ...

and achieved a personal best in the outdoor season, running 1:45.25 minutes in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. This was enough to gain him a place on the Kuwaiti Olympic team for the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, where he ran in the heats stage.Righi, Tahar (1 December 2007)
Focus on Athletes – Mohammad Mutlak AL AZEMI
IAAF. Retrieved 16 August 2011. Despite injuries, his career reached new heights in 2005. He was fourth at the Islamic Solidarity Games and ran a season's best of 1:46.67 minutes for fifth at the

2005 Asian Athletics Championships The 2005 Asian Athletics Championships were the 16th edition of the international athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held in Incheon, South Korea between 1–4 September 2005. Results Men * The original bronze medalist, An ...

. Al-Azemi reached the semi-finals of the 800 m at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

and ended the year with a bronze medal at the

2005 Asian Indoor Games The 1st Asian Indoor Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 12 to 19, 2005. Venues Bangkok * Indoor Stadium Huamark - Dancesport * Thai-Japanese Stadium - Futsal * Nimibutr Stadium - Indoor cycling * The Mall Bangkapi - Sepak takraw * ...

. He changed coaching staff to Jama Aden in December and the training had quick results, as he ran a national record of 1:44.80 min to win at the

Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix The Doha Diamond League is an annual one-day track and field meeting held at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium The Suheim bin Hamad Stadium (), also known as Qatar SC Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is currently used mostly for ...

. He improved it further to 1:44.59 min with a win on the

2006 IAAF Golden League The 2006 Golden League was the ninth edition of the IAAF's annual series of six athletics meets, held across Europe, with athletes having the chance to win the Golden League Jackpot of $1 million. Programme Results Men Women Exter ...

circuit at the Bislett Games and had his best run of the year at the

Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria The Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria is an annual athletics event at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1963, held at the Panathinaiko Stadium. Its name honours Kostas Tsikli ...

(1:44.13 min). A close duel with Youssef Saad Kamel at the

was the highlight of the year – even though the Kenyan-born runner defeated him he was the silver medallist in the event. Al-Azemi had his best run of 2007 at the Tsiklitiria meet, running 1:44.55 min, and also won the 800 m at the Bislett Games.Al-Azemi Mohammad
IAAF. Retrieved 16 August 2011. He missed the Asian Championships that year, but again reached the semi-finals on the global stage, although he finished last in his race at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

. He gave a national indoor and Games record performance at the

2007 Asian Indoor Games The 2007 Asian Indoor Games, officially known as the 2nd Asian Indoor Games and also known as Macau 2007 were held in Macau, China from 26 October 2007 to 3 November 2007. Most events of the games took place at the Macao East Asian Games Dome. The ...

to win his first title at Asian-level competition. After running 1:45.79 min in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

in June 2008 and was chosen to compete at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. He reached the Olympic 800 m semi-finals, but was again last in his race on the world stage. In 2009, he won the Gulf and Kuwaiti 800 m titles and had a series of wins on the

Asian Athletics Grand Prix Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

circuit. On his third consecutive appearance at the World Championships, he was ousted in the heats stage. He was second at the 2009

Arab Athletics Championships The Arab Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Arab Athletic Association. It traditionally occurred every two years. It was not held in 1985 due to the schedule clash with the Pan Arab Games. However, due to the erratic scheduling ...

and in November he went on to claim the silver medal at the

2009 Asian Indoor Games The 2009 Asian Indoor Games ( vi, Đại hội Thể thao Trong nhà châu Á 2009), officially the 3rd Asian Indoor Games ( vi, Đại hội Thể thao Trong nhà châu Á lần thứ 3) and also known as Vietnam 2009, were a pancontinential indoo ...

in an indoor Kuwaiti record of 1:48.93 minutes.Mohamed Mutlak Al-Azimi
Tilastopaja. Retrieved 16 August 2011. The Asian Indoor winner

Sajjad Moradi Sajjad Moradi ( fa, سجاد مرادی, born 30 March 1983) is an Iranian middle distance runner who specializes in the 800 m and 1500 m. He holds multiple national records for Iran from various track disciplines. Moradi is a gold-medalist in ...

also left Al-Azemi in the runner-up spot at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, China in 2009. Results Men's results Track Field Women's results Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

. In Moradi's absence, however, he won the gold medal at the

2010 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2010 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, also known as the IV Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, was an international indoor athletics event took place in Tehran, Iran, between 24 and 26 February. This was the second edition to be hosted ...

. This gained him a berth for the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

, but he was eliminated in the first round. He attempted to reach the podium at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

, but was in poor form and ended up in sixth. At the

, he beat regional rival Sajjad Moradi in both the 800 m and the

events to complete an Asian title double. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified for obstructing Marcin Lewandowski in the first heat of the men's 800 metres.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azemi, Mohammad Living people 1982 births Kuwaiti male middle-distance runners Sportspeople from Kuwait City Olympic athletes for Kuwait Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Kuwait Asian Games silver medalists for Kuwait Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Athletics Championships winners