Billy Komintai Konchellah (born 20 October 1961 in

Kilgoris Kilgoris is a town in Narok County, Kenya. The town has a population of 70,475 (2019 census). Kilgoris is one of two major urban centres in Narok County; the other being Narok town. Maasai people, Maasai are the indigenous and prominent tribe in ...

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

) is a former

800 m 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 ...

runner who won two

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

gold medals in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

1987 and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

1991.

Career

His victory in the 1991 final was unexpected. He sprinted past

Paul Ereng Paul Ereng (born 22 August 1966) is a former Kenyan athlete, and the surprise winner of the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Born in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia, Kenya, Paul Ereng attended Starehe Boys Centre and School in Nairobi, Kenya. He wa ...

and Jose Luiz Barbosa on the final straight. In 1993 Konchellah made an unexpected comeback when he won the B-race at the meeting in Zurich. He travelled to the World Championships in Stuttgart and looked strong in the heats and semi-finals. However, in the final he lacked the finishing kick that had earned him the gold medal in Tokyo two years before. The race was won by

Paul Ruto Paul Ruto (born November 3, 1960) is a former Kenyan 800 metres runner who won a gold medal at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart. Ruto took the lead in the first lap and kept it until the end. He was used to front-running, as earlier ...

and Konchellah finished third. Konchellah never won an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medal as he suffered from asthma for long periods of his career which prevented him from entering the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

Olympic Games. In the 800 m final at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

he had finished fourth. Konchellah's World Championships record of 1:43.06 min (1987) lasted until 2019. He also won 800 metres race in the

1987 All-Africa Games The 4th All-Africa Games were played from August 1, 1987, to August 12, 1987, in Nairobi, Kenya. 42 countries participated in fourteen sports. From the beginning the intent had been to hold the African Games every four years. Economic difficulti ...

held in Kenya. In

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...

's world record of 1:41:73 in Florence, 1981, Konchellah set the early pace. Konchellah continued his career until the late 90s. His son Gregory Konchellah, who has changed his name to

Yusuf Saad Kamel Yusuf Saad Kamel ( ar, يوسف سعد كامل), born Gregory Konchellah (born 29 March 1983) is a male former middle-distance runner who competed in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Born in Narok, Kenya – the son of former two-time 800 metres W ...

and is 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 a ...

since 2003, is also a prominent athlete. Billy's younger brother

Patrick Konchellah Patrick Konchellah (April 20, 1968 – November 29, 2009 in Bomet) was a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He finished fourth in the 800 metres final at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens, a race won by Wilson Kipketer. He also helped ...

is also a former successful 800 metres runner. His father John Konchellah and uncle Gideon Konchellah were politicians.Daily Nation, February 10, 2004
Track hero now faces legal hurdle
/ref> His brother John Konchellah has been involved with organising running competitions. Billy Konchellah went to Jamhuri Primary and Upper Hill Secondary schools, both located in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

. Later, he got an athletics scholarship in the United States and left there at age nineteen.The Standard, October 2, 2008
I want AK’s top seat, says Konchellah
/ref> He graduated with a degree in business administration from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

. After his running career Konchellah moved to

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. He married a Finnish woman and had a child.

Criminal charges and imprisonment

In 2004 he was acquitted of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

charges in the UK.http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=39&newsid=54649 He was deported from the UK and

extradited Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

to face charges that he drugged and raped two Finnish girls in 2002. One of the girls had been under 16, which is the

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally cla ...

in Finland. In 2005 he was convicted of two rapes, sexual exploitation of a child, and a drug crime and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He was released from prison in 2006. Konchellah could face additional rape charges in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where two women have alleged that he raped them in 2003.

References

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konchellah, Billy 1961 births Living people People from Narok County Kenyan male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Kenya People deported from the United Kingdom Kenyan rapists Kenyan people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Finland People acquitted of rape World Athletics Championships medalists People extradited from Kenya People extradited to Finland San Diego State Aztecs men's track and field athletes African Games gold medalists for Kenya African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 All-Africa Games Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Finland Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in the United States World Athletics Championships winners