Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy (russian: Юрий Михайлович Борзаковский, , born 12 April 1981) is a Russian

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 ...

specializing in 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 th ...

Early life

Borzakovskiy was born at Kratovo, in the

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally " under Moscow"), is a federal subject of R ...

. He was named for the Russian

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. T ...

Athletic career

Borzakovskiy's first major international success was a victory at the 2000 European Indoor Championships when he was only 18 years old. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

he reached the 800 m final, in which he finished sixth. In 2001 he won the World Indoor title over 800 m but decided not to participate in the World Championships in Edmonton. On 24 August 2001, Borzakovskiy posted a time of 1:42.47 minutes. That currently makes him the 12th fastest man in history over that distance. In addition, Borzakovskiy was ranked No.1 in the world in that year. In 2002, Borzakovskiy ran the 400 m at the European Championships in Munich but was eliminated in the early stages. The following season he picked up a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

over 800 m at the World Championships in Paris. Borzakovskiy's greatest achievement was his victory in the 800 m race at the Athens Olympics in 2004. By this point, he was well known for sitting back until about the last 200 metres and then using a great kick to catch up and win, reminiscent of the tactics of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Dave Wottle David James Wottle (born August 7, 1950) is an American retired middle-distance track athlete. He was the gold medalist in the 800 meter run at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and a world record holder in the 800 meters. In 1973, Wottle als ...

. At the Olympics he employed the same strategy, using this 'late charge' to come from behind in the last 150 meters to pass world record holder

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. He is the second fastest of all time over 800 meters, setting the world record and breaking his own record two more times all in 1997. He dominated the ...

, who was leading with only 20 metres to go, and take the victory. Borzakovskiy's decisive pass so deflated Kipketer that he allowed

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi (8 September 1980 – 24 October 2014) was a South African middle distance runner, and the 2009 world champion in the men's 800 metres. His first global medal was a silver at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics ...

to nip him at the line. In the 2005 World Championships he took silver in the 800 m competition, overtaking everyone but Bahrain's

Rashid Ramzi Rashid Ramzi ( ar, رشيد رمزي) (born July 17, 1980) is a Moroccan-Bahraini track and field athlete competing internationally for Bahrain in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Ramzi was investigated by the IAAF after the 2008 Summer Olympics ...

on the final straight. Ramzi was disqualified from the 2008 Olympics for doping violations but so far has been allowed to keep his prior medals. At the 2006 World Indoor Championships he won a bronze medal. Borzakovskiy won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

at the 2007 World Championships in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. The final ran at a very slow pace and he was boxed in on the final lap which slowed down his sprint in the last 100 m. In 2008 he made an impressive comeback by posting a time of 1:42.79 minutes, his first time under 1:43 since 2001. He made the Olympic team at the Beijing Olympics but unexpectedly failed to qualify for the 800 m final, finishing only third in his semifinal heat. In 2009 he won

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that ...

in 1:48.55. On 23 August he placed fourth at the final of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin in 1:45.57. Most of his 2010 season was lost due to an injury. In 2011, he achieved yet another podium finish with a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships. In this race, Borzakovskiy ran most of the last lap in second place and was himself overtaken just before the finish line. In 2012, he won the European Championships 800 metre gold medal, in Helsinki. At the 2012 London Olympics, he failed to make the finals as he was eliminated in the semi-final round.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borzakovskiy, Yuriy 1981 births Living people People from Ramensky District Sportspeople from Moscow Oblast Russian male middle-distance runners Olympic male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Russia Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners European Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Indoor Championships winners Russian Athletics Championships winners Mordvin people

Early life

Athletic career

See also

References