 Kamel at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gregory Konchellah |
| Born | 29 March 1983 Narok, Kenya |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Bahrain |
| Sport | Men's athletics |
| Event(s) | 800 metres, 1500 metres |
| Retired | 2016 |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 800 m: 1:42.79 min (2008) 1500 m: 3:31.56 min (2009) |
Medal record | |
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]
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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The East African, June 8, 2009: Konchellah ‘back’ home
- ^ The Standard, July 13, 2009: Konchella throws spanner in the works[usurped]