Belal Mansoor Ali ( ar, بلال منصور علي; born 17 October 1988) 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

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

after changing nationality from

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

. He was born John Yego on 17 October 1988 in Kenya. Works with Bahrain Defence Forced. A lot of controversy has surrounded his age, starting when he won 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 Athle ...

race at the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships in Marrakech,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

and became suspected for age cheating. In August 2005 the IAAF opened an investigation regarding Belal Mansoor Ali,

Tareq Mubarak Taher Tareq Mubarak Taher, born as Dennis Kipkurui Sang ( ar, طارق مبارك طاهر, born 1 December 1986), is a middle-distance runner who represents Bahrain after changing nationality from Kenya. His speciality is the 3000 metres steeplechas ...

and Aadam Ismaeel Khamis, all Bahraini athletes born in Kenya. The same month Ali was competed at the 2005 World Championships. His most successful event was 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 t ...

, where he placed seventh in the final. In June he had set a personal best time over 800 metres of 1:44.34 minutes in

Conegliano Conegliano (; Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th-century castle a ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

; at the time, that was a world youth best, equivalent with the World Record for under age 18. In July 2006 Ali was arrested in Kenya, suspected for age cheating at the 2005 World Youth Championships. The IAAF Council, gathered in Beijing while the 2006 World Junior Championships took place, reported the slow progression of the case. A few days before, Ali had actually won a World Junior bronze medal over 1500 metres and finished seventh over 800 metres on the track. In late 2006 Ali was cleared of all charges, and in December he won a silver medal 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 ...

. In November 2010 he won the bronze medal at the Asian Games.

References

External links

* 1988 births Living people Bahraini male middle-distance runners Kenyan male middle-distance runners Kenyan emigrants to Bahrain Olympic athletes for Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Bahraini people of Kenyan descent Asian Games silver medalists for Bahrain Asian Games bronze medalists for Bahrain Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games {{Kenya-athletics-bio-stub