Billy Konchellah
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| Born | 20 October 1961 |
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Medal record
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Billy Komintai Konchellah (born 20 October 1961 in Kilgoris, Kenya) is a former 800 m runner who won two World Championship gold medals in Rome 1987 and Tokyo 1991.
His victory in the 1991 final was unexpected. He sprinted past Paul Ereng and Jose Luiz Barbosa on the final straight. In 1993 Konchellah made an unexpected comeback when he won the B-race at the meeting in Zurich. He travelled to the World Championships in Stuttgart and looked strong in the heats and semi-finals. However, in the final he lacked the finishing kick that had earned him the gold medal in Tokyo two years before. The race was won by Paul Ruto and Konchellah finished third. Konchellah never won an Olympic medal as he suffered from asthma for long periods of his career which prevented him from entering the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. In the 800 m final at the 1984 Summer Olympics he had finished fourth. Konchellah's World Championships record of 1:43.06 min (1987) is still unbroken. He also won 800 metres race in the 1987 All-Africa Games held in Kenya.
In Sebastian Coe's world record of 1:41:73 in Florence, 1981, Konchellah set the early pace.
Konchellah continued his career until the late 90s.
His son Gregory Konchellah, who has changed his name to Yusuf Saad Kamel and is representing Bahrain since 2003, is also a prominent athlete. Billy's younger brother Patrick Konchellah is also a former successful 800 metres runner.
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