Tareq Mubarak TAHER

Born in Kenya, Tareq Mubarak Taher became a Bahraini citizen on 1st January 2005. He won the 2000m steeplechase at the World Youth Championships of 2005 and reached the final of the 3000m steeplechase at the senior World Championships a few weeks later. The following year he took the steeplechase gold medal at the Asian Games, silver at the World Junior Championships and was chosen to represent Asia at the World Cup.

Doubts had been raised in 2005 about his age and even his true identity. Bahraini documents claimed that Taher was born with the name Dennis Sang on the 1st of December 1989 but Athletics Kenya disputed this and claimed the athlete was in fact Dennis Kipkurui Keter and was born in 1984. After an investigation by the IAAF, the organisation decided that Taher had falsified his birth certificate and had in reality been born on the 1st of December 1986, three years earlier than he claimed. The IAAF retrospectively disqualified his performances in junior competition and he was forced to return all medals won at junior level since 2005.

Taher set a national steeplechase record in 2007 and again reached the final of the World championships. He placed eleventh in the 2008 Olympic Games and 4th in the World Athletics final later in the year.

Personal Best: 3000S – 8:06.13 (2009).