Yuriy Borzakovskiy

Yuriy Borzakovskiy

Borzakovskiy taking gold at the 2009 European Indoor Championships
Personal information
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1981-04-12) 12 April 1981 (age 35) Kratovo, USSR
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	800 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 metres: 45.84 800 metres: 1:42.47
Medal record Men’s athletics Representing  Russia Olympic Games 2004 Athens 800 m World Championships 2003 Paris 800 m 2005 Helsinki 800 m 2007 Osaka 800 m 2011 Daegu 800 m World Indoor Championships 2001 Lisbon 800 m 2006 Moscow 800 m European Championships 2012 Helsinki 800 m European Indoor Championships 2000 Gent 800 m 2009 Torino 800 m

Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy (Russian: Юрий Михайлович Борзаковский, Jurij Michajlovič Borzakovskij, born 12 April 1981) is a Russian middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres.

Borzakovskiy was born at Kratovo, in the Moscow oblast. He was named for the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Borzakovskiy's first major international success was a victory at the 2000 European Indoor Championships when he was only 18 years old. At the 2000 Summer Olympics he reached the 800 m final, in which he finished sixth. In 2001 he won the World Indoor title over 800 m but decided not to participate in the World Championships in Edmonton. On 24 August 2001, Borzakovskiy posted a time of 1:42.47 minutes. That currently makes him the 10th fastest man in history over that distance. In addition, Borzakovskiy was ranked No.1 in the world in that year. In 2002, Borzakovskiy ran the 400 m at the European Championships in Munich but lost in the early stages. The following season he picked up a silver medal over 800 m at the World Championships in Paris.

Borzakovskiy's greatest achievement was his victory in the 800 m race at the Athens Olympics in 2004. By this point, he was well known for sitting back until about the last 200 metres and then using a great kick to catch up and win, reminiscent of the tactics of U.S.A's Dave Wottle. At the Olympics he employed the same strategy, using this 'late charge' to come from behind in the last 150 meters to pass world record holder Wilson Kipketer, who was leading with only 20 metres to go, and take the victory. Borzakovskiy's decisive pass so deflated Kipketer that he allowed Mbulaeni Mulaudzi to nip him at the line.