Filbert Bayi Sanka (born June 23, 1953) is a Tanzanian former middle-distance runner who competed throughout the 1970s. He set the world records for

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

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 District (''Wilaya ya Karatu'', in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of seven Districts of Tanzania, districts of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. The district is bordered to the north by the Ngorongoro District and to the west by the Meatu ...

, near

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

, 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 in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, 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 Athletics (sport), athlete from Kenya, who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics, behind teammate Kipchoge Keino. Jipcho won ...

. 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 and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

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 Party (United States), 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 si ...

as well. Third place Jipcho, fourth place

Rod Dixon Rodney Phillip Dixon (born 13 July 1950) is a former New Zealand middle- to long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and in 1983 won the New York City Marathon. Biography Dixon was ...

, 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 (political), 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 spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

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 ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

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

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, 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 at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He ran 8:12.5 behind

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

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 ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. The complex also aims to educate young people about

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, plus ways of getting out of

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

. 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 lang ...

Youth Sport Trust The Youth Sport Trust is a British government-funded trust that funds and promotes the provision of youth sport in the UK, partly to have an effect on children's health. History School sport provision had been reduced in the 1980s, due to disputes ...

. The school hosted students from Barlby 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