William TANUI

William Tanui was a late bloomer, winning the 1,500 m at the 1989 Kenyan Commonwealth Games trials, only to finish sixth at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. In the same year he won the 800 m at the African Championships. At the 1991 World Indoor Championships, Tanui crossed the line first, but was disqualified for breaking from his lane too early. Tanui’s greatest moment came at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when, in the 800 m final he stormed down the outside, finishing in lane three, to edge past his teammate Nixon Kiprotich for gold. Tanui was unable to repeat this form in his only appearance at a World Championships, at Stuttgart in 1993, finishing seventh. Tanui concentrated more on the 1,500 m in the latter part of his career, and finished fifth at that distance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. At the World Indoor Championships, Tanui finished third in the 1,500 m in 1997, and fourth in 1999.

Personal Bests: 800 – 1:43.30 (1991); 1500 – 3:30.58 (1997).