Yusuf Saad Kamel

Yusuf Saad Kamel (Arabic: يوسف سعد كامل), born Gregory Konchellah (born 29 March 1983) is a male former middle-distance runner who competed in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Born in Narok, Kenya – the son of former two-time 800 metres World Champion Billy Konchellah – he represented Bahrain internationally. Kamel won the gold in the 1500 m and bronze in 800 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin.[1]

Yusuf Saad Kamel
Kamel at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin
Personal information
Birth nameGregory Konchellah
Born (1983-03-29) 29 March 1983
Narok, Kenya
Sport
Country Bahrain
SportMen's athletics
Event(s)800 metres, 1500 metres
Retired2016
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800 m: 1:42.79 min (2008)
1500 m: 3:31.56 min (2009)
Medal record
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2009 Berlin1500 m
Bronze medal – third place2009 Berlin800 m
IAAF World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place2008 Valencia800 m

In early 2009 he stopped competing for Bahrain claiming unpaid salary and bonuses. He was willing to compete for Kenya, but his Kenyan passport was held by Bahraini officials. Without a passport, he was unable to compete in any competition. Several other Kenyan runners who took Bahraini citizenship have also left Bahrain and are vying to compete for Kenya.[2] However, he returned to the track in July 2009 at the Athletissima meeting, still representing Bahrain. Subsequently, Athletics Kenya stopped to handle his attempt to compete for Kenya.[3]

At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu he only participated at the 1500 m but just failed to qualify for the final.

He trained with PACE Sports Management under Ricky Simms.

Statistics

Competition record
Kamel after taking the 1500 m gold at the 2009 World Championships
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2004 Asian Indoor Championships Tehran, Iran 3rd 800 m 1:48.89
World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd (semis) 800 m 1:47.16
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 3rd (heats) 800 m 1:46.94
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 1st 800 m 1:45.91
Pan Arab Games Algiers, Algeria 1st 800 m 1:46.12
2005 Arab Championships Tunis, Tunisia 1st 800 m 1:47.36
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd 800 m 1:44.90
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 2nd 800 m 1:47.13
2006 World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 6th 800 m 1:47.62
World Cup Athens, Greece 1st 800 m 1:44.98
Asian Games Doha, Qatar 1st 800 m 1:45.74
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 9th (semis) 800 m 1:45.31
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 1st 800 m 1:45.61 CR
2008 Asian Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 1st 800 m 1:48.03 CR
World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 3rd 800 m 1:45.26
Olympic Games Beijing, China 5th 800 m 1:44.95
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 3rd 800 m 1:49.40
5th 1500 m 3:38.50
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 3rd 800 m 1:45.35
1st 1500 m 3:35.93
World Athletics Final Thessaloniki, Greece 4th 1500 m 3:36.11
2010 Asian Games Guangzhou, China 9th (heats) 1500 m 3:58.80
2011 Military World Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5th 800 m 1:46.89
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 6th (semis) 1500 m 3:47.18
2013 Asian Championships Pune, India 6th 800 m 1:50.54
Islamic Solidarity Games Palembang, Indonesia 4th 1500 m 1:48.27
2014 Asian Games Incheon, South Korea — 800 m DNF

Circuit wins
800 metres

See also

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Yusuf Saad Kamel". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  2. The East African, June 8, 2009: Konchellah ‘back’ home
  3. The Standard, July 13, 2009: Konchella throws spanner in the works Archived September 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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