Ilham Tanui Özbilen displays Turkey’s new national record in 800m race – Athletics news
As the Flanders Cup meeting concluded in Ninove, it was Ilham Tanui Özbilen, the 21-year-old middle distance runner from Turkey who left the audience stunned for his marvellous performance over the distance of 800m. Unleashing the strength of his legs, the
1500m title holder of the 2009 World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece, Özbilen covered the required distance in an impressive one minute and 44.25 seconds.
Özbilen, who primarily hails from Kenya, started representing Turkey in the discipline back on June 20, 2011. After improving his Personal Best for over two seconds, the young runner is now regarded as the tenth fastest runner over the distance in the world
list this year.
While competing at Ninove, it was Matthias Rosseeuw who set the pace for the run, however, Özbilen did not take long before responding and as soon as the initial 600m were over in one minute and 17 seconds, he surpassed his rival and maintained a lead of
about five metres over him. Undeterred by the pouring rain, he did not compromise on a strong finish and hit the 800m line while claiming the top position on the podium.
Sharing his thoughts about how he was determined to emerge over the distance, the young runner said, “I was very focused to make it a very fast race today, because I knew that the pace would be ideally set. I wanted to show something and I wanted to prove
that I can be competitive at the highest level in the 800m as well.”
Unfortunately, despite showing such potential for the distance on the track, Özbilen will not represent his new country at the upcoming World Championships in South Korea.
On the women’s side, the run was not less attractive as American runner, Latavia Thomas took the chance to lower her PB by over two seconds and stopped the clock in one minute and 59.67 seconds.
For the young American runner, running at Ninove was a splendid experience. Sharing details of how she managed to mark a fast time, the American said, “I wanted to stay close to the pace and for the first time I went through at the bell as fast as 57.5 and
that gave me wings. I still had something left at 600m and gave it everything. This was all new to me because I’m not a front runner and still I moved into unknown territory.”
For the 1500m event, heavy rain and gushing winds certainly did not make conditions idealistic for runners, however, among women performers, Tugba Karakaya hit the finishing line in four minutes and 8.67 seconds. While on the men’s side, it was David Torrence
who clinched the title for marking a finish of three minutes and 37.10 seconds.
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