Polat Kemboi Arıkan (born 12 December 1990 in Cheptiret,

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

) is a Turkish long-distance runner of

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

n origin competing in the

3000 m 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 ...

and 5000 m events. (September 2011 – July 2015) The tall athlete, weighing , is a member of

Enkaspor Enkaspor ( tr, Enka Spor Kulübü) is a multi-sports club established in 1983 in Istanbul, Turkey by the Turkish construction conglomerate Enka Construction Co. Enkaspor's main activities are in athletics, water polo, tennis and swimming with 3 ...

in the city of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkish citizenship

He switched allegiance to Turkey on 8 June 2011, changing his name from Paul Kipkosgei Kemboi to Polat Kemboi Arıkan. Normally, he would have to wait for two years following his naturalization to be able to represent his adoptive country internationally, however, it was announced in February 2012 that he had received permission from the

International Association of Athletics Federations 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 ...

(IAAF) to compete for Turkey starting with the 2012 World Indoor Championships in

Achievements

Arıkan took part in the 5000 m event at the 2011 Memorial Van Damme Diamond League meeting in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

setting a new Turkish national record with a time of 13:05.98; the record was previously held by Mert Girmalegese with a time of 13:26.14. Running this time entitled him to participate at the 2012 Olympic Games in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He is the indoor 3000 m and 5000 m national record holder with times of 7:42.49 for the 3000 m set in 2012 at the Balkan Championships in Istanbul and 13:12.55 for the 5000 m set at 2012 PSD Bank Meeting in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 2012, he also won the 10,000m European Cup in Bilbao, setting a new personal best in the event.Ramsak, Bob (4 June 2012)
Moreira and Kemboi Arikan take the European Cup 10,000m titles
IAAF. Retrieved 10 June 2012. That year, he won the European 10,000 m title also. At the same European Championships, he also won the bronze medal in the 5,000 m. At the

2013 Mediterranean Games The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...

held in Mersin, Turkey, he became gold medalist in the 10,000 m event. In 2016, he won the European 10,000 m title again, and set a new personal best in the 10000 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

held in Doha, Qatar. He did not finish his race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arikan, Polat Kemboi Living people 1990 births Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan emigrants to Turkey Naturalized citizens of Turkey Turkish people of Kenyan descent Turkish male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Turkey European Athletics Championships medalists European champions for Turkey Enkaspor athletes Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 2013 Mediterranean Games European Cross Country Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic male marathon runners