Filbert Bayi Sanka (born June 23, 1953) is a

Tanzanian Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

former

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 1 ...

who competed throughout the 1970s. He set the world records for

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 ...

in 1974 and the mile in 1975. His world record in the 1500 m was also the Commonwealth Games record until 2022.

Running career

Born in a small village of

Karatu Karatu is one of the seven districts in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. The District covers an area of . and has an max elevation of ..It is bordered by the Ngorongoro District to the north, the Meatu District to the west in Simiyu Region. The ...

, near

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

, Tanzania, he had to run eight miles every day to and from school as a boy. His greatest moment was arguably the 1500 m final at the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, when he won the gold medal ahead of New Zealand runner John Walker and Kenyan

Ben Jipcho Benjamin Wabura Jipcho (1 March 1943 – 24 July 2020) was a track and field athlete from Kenya, who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics, behind teammate Kipchoge Keino. Jipcho won the 5000 metres rac ...

. Bayi set a new world record of 3 min 32.16 s, ratified by the

IAAF 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 ...

as 3:32.2, and Walker went under the old world record set by

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the ...

as well. Third place Jipcho, fourth place Rod Dixon, and fifth place Graham Crouch also ran the fourth, fifth, and seventh fastest 1500 m times to that date. It is still classed as one of the greatest 1500 m races of all time. There was no jockeying for position in the race; Bayi led from the beginning in a fast pace and was 20 metres ahead at 800 metres, the other runners strung out in a line behind him. In 1975, Bayi broke Ryun's eight-year-old mile record by clocking 3:51.0 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...

on 17 May. The record was short-lived as Walker became history's first sub-3:50 miler on 12 August of the same year, running 3:49.4 at

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. It was hoped that the Bayi-Walker clash would continue but, because Tanzania boycotted the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, it never materialized. However, since Bayi was suffering from a bout of malaria shortly before the Olympics, he may not have been able to challenge Walker even had there been no boycott. Bayi won a silver medal in the 3000 m

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He ran 8:12.5 behind

Bronisław Malinowski Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (; 7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942) was a Polish-British anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthro ...

. He won the 1500 m race at the

1973 All-Africa Games The 2nd All-Africa Games – Lagos 1973 were played from January 7, 1973, to January 18, 1973, in Lagos, Nigeria. After the success of the first African Games, the organizing bodies awarded the second games to Bamako, Mali to be held in 1969. A ...

, with

Kipchoge Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a lon ...

gaining silver. Bayi successfully defended his title at the

1978 All-Africa Games The 3rd All-Africa Games – Algiers 1978 was a multi-sport event played from July 13, 1978, to July 28, 1978, in Algiers, Algeria. 45 countries from 49 independent African countries participated in twelve sports. At the closing ceremonies the t ...

Later life

After retirement Bayi has spent much effort in setting up the Filbert Bayi Foundation which aims to guide young sporting talent in Tanzania. It is based in Mkuza, about 50 km from

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

. The complex also aims to educate young people about HIV and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, plus ways of getting out of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse

. The foundation started in 2003. Bayi has also opened a Primary and Nursery school based in Kimara, as well as the Secondary school which is based in Kibaha. The schools have been partnered with

Barlby High School Barlby High School is a mixed secondary school located in Barlby, North Yorkshire, England. The school opened in 1960. Previously a community school administered by North Yorkshire County Council, in September 2017 Barlby High School conve ...

as part of the Dreams and Teams project set up by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Youth Sport Trust Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...

. The school hosted students from

Barlby Barlby is a linear village in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the north-east of the market town of Selby, and is bordered to the west by the River Ouse and to the east by the A19 Barlby bypass. Across the bypass is Barlby's small ...

High School in January and February 2008. Bayi is also a member of the

Technical Committee"IAAF: Committees"
''iaaf.org''. and is Secretary-General of the Tanzanian Olympic Committee."Bayi's record may be gone but it should never be forgotten"
''HeraldScotland''.

International competitions

References

External links

Filbert Bayi Schools – Homepage
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayi, Filbert People from Arusha Region 1953 births Living people Tanzanian male middle-distance runners Tanzanian steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Tanzania Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Tanzania Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Tanzania Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Tanzania World record setters in athletics (track and field) People from Karatu District Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics African Games gold medalists for Tanzania African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1973 All-Africa Games