Belal Mansoor Ali

Belal Mansoor Ali
Personal information
Birth nameJohn Kipkorir Yego
Nationality Bahraini
Born (1988-10-17) 17 October 1988 (age 36)
Kenya
Height5'7'
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)800 metres, 1500 metres
ClubBelal athletics Club
TeamGianni demadona
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800 m: 1:44.02 (Rieti 2007)
1000m: 2:15.23 (Stockholm)
1500 m: 3:31.49 (Athens 2007)
Medal record
Representing  Bahrain
Men's Athletics
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou 1500 m
Continental Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Split 800 m

Belal Mansoor Ali (Arabic: بلال منصور علي; born 17 October 1988) is a middle distance runner now representing Bahrain after changing nationality from Kenya.

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 race at the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships in Marrakech, Morocco and became suspected for age cheating.[citation needed] In August 2005 the IAAF opened an investigation regarding Belal Mansoor Ali, Tareq Mubarak Taher and Aadam Ismaeel Khamis, 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, 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, Italy; at the time, that was a world youth best, equivalent with the World Record for under age 18.[1]

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.[2] 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,[3] and in December he won a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games. In November 2010 he won the bronze medal at the Asian Games.

He works for the Bahrain Defense Force.

  1. ^ Minshull, Phil (10 July 2011). "Kenya's Kirwa Konsecha shows that he's a true Masai warrior". IAAF. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  2. ^ "IAAF: News | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)