Belal Mansoor Ali (; born 17 October 1988) is a

middle distance runner Middle Distance Runner was an American indie rock band from Washington, D.C. Middle Distance Runner was founded in 1998, but the band didn't play a live show until 2005, shortly before the release of their debut album. The group was an early succ ...

now representing

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

after changing nationality from

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He was born John Yego on 17 October 1988 in Kenya. A lot of controversy has surrounded his age, starting when he won the

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 ...

race at the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and became suspected for age cheating. In August 2005 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 ...

opened an investigation regarding Belal Mansoor Ali,

Tareq Mubarak Taher Tareq Mubarak Taher, born as Dennis Kipkurui Sang (, born 1 December 1986), is a middle-distance runner who represents Bahrain after changing nationality from Kenya. His speciality is the 3000 metres steeplechase. His personal best time of 8:06 ...

and

Aadam Ismaeel Khamis Aadam Ismaeel Khamis (born Hosea Kosgei; ; born 12 February 1989) is a Bahraini-Kenyan long-distance runner. He represents Bahrain after his switch from Kenya. Biography According to Bahraini officials, Kosgei was born on 12 February 1989, in ...

, all Bahraini athletes born in Kenya. The same month Ali was competed at the 2005 World Championships. His most successful event was the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, 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 a ...

, where he placed seventh in the final. In June he had set a personal best time over 800 metres of 1:44.34 minutes in

Conegliano Conegliano (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

; at the time, that was a world youth best, equivalent with the World Record for under age 18. In July 2006 Ali was arrested in Kenya, suspected of age cheating at the 2005 World Youth Championships. The IAAF Council, gathered in Beijing while the 2006 World Junior Championships took place, reported the slow progression of the case. A few days before, Ali had actually won a World Junior bronze medal over 1500 metres and finished seventh over 800 metres on the track. In late 2006 Ali was cleared of all charges, and in December he won a silver medal at the

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

. In November 2010 he won the bronze medal at the Asian Games. He works for the Bahrain Defense Force.

References

External links

* 1988 births Living people Bahraini male middle-distance runners Kenyan male middle-distance runners Kenyan emigrants to Bahrain Olympic athletes for Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Bahraini people of Kenyan descent Asian Games silver medalists for Bahrain Asian Games athletes for Bahrain Asian Games bronze medalists for Bahrain Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Arab Athletics Championships winners West Asian Athletics Championships winners Asian Athletics Championships medalists 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen Asian Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Kenya-athletics-bio-stub