Yoann Kowal (born 28 May 1987) is a French middle distance runner who specializes in the

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 ...

and

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

Personal life

Kowal is married to Marianne and has a daughter Elea. His father Daniel held the national title in the 3000 m steeplechase, and his mother Nadine was a French

duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

champion. Kowal took up athletics aged four and started competing internationally in 2009. He frequently trains in

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

. As of 2016 he served in the French military, with the

Joinville Battalion Joinville-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur (literally "The Branch of Saint-Maur ...

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

Career

Kowal won his first senior title in unusual circumstances at the

2014 European Athletics Championships The 2014 European Athletics Championships was held in Zürich, Switzerland, between 12 and 17 August 2014. It was the first time that Switzerland had hosted the European Athletics Championships since 1954. Great Britain headed the medal table, w ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. After initially finishing second in the

, Kowal was upgraded to the gold medal position when race winner and French teammate

Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a French professional middle-distance running, middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won medals in major international competitio ...

was disqualified for removing his shirt in the home straight.European Championships: Athlete loses gold for removing shirt
BBC Sport (14 August 2014). Retrieved on 2014-08-16.

Competition record

Personal bests

Outdoor *

– 3:33.75 min (2011) *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

– 7:45.11 min (2016) *

– 8:12.53 min (2013) Indoor *

– 3:38.07 min (2011) *

2000 metres The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles. The global governing body World Ath ...

– 5:04.18 min (2013) *

– 7:44.26 min (2012)

References

1987 births Living people French male middle-distance runners French male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of France Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for France European Athletics Championships medalists French people of Polish descent French male cross country runners Sportspeople from Eure-et-Loir Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for France 21st-century French people {{France-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub