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Kaan Kigen Ozbilen Breaks European Marathon Record

  • 21-03-2016 7:46pm
    #1
    El Caballo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,137 ✭✭✭


    This is an interesting one. Better known as former Kenyan Mike Kigen who recently changed his name to Kaan Kigen Ozbilen and switched allowance to Turkey. He ran 2.06:10 in Seoul to take 26 seconds off the 16 year old record. He's been eligible to run for Turkey since the 1st October 2015 and holds dual citizenship but he is down as Kenyan on the results. He ran the Amsterdam marathon back in October in 2.07 which the IAAF aknowledged in an article as a Turkish record but there is no talk of him beating the European record in Seoul.

    The strange thing is that the IAAF review talks about a former Eritrean in the form of Abraham Tadesse just missing out on the European record when he finished behind Kigen in the race. Kigen's IAAF profile shows this run as 2.06:10 and his nationality as Kenyan. What the hell is going on?


Comments

  • #2
    Murph_D
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,595 ✭✭✭✭Murph_D


    My head hurts already.


  • #3
    El Caballo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,137 ✭✭✭El Caballo


    Murph_D wrote: »
    My head hurts already.

    You're not the only one. Despite the IAAF acknowledging his switch to Turkey many times since October and his 2:07 in Amsterdam as a Turkish record, that record doesn't appear to have been ratified officially either as everything I have seen says the Turkish record is still 2:10.

    They have a race preview from the 30th of December saying he would be running Vallecano the next day as Turkish but his nationality has remained as Kenyan on his IAAF profile and now his 2:06 doesn't look it's going to count either even though he is supposed to be Turkish. Besides the fact that he is obviously a bought athlete and I wouldn't like to see him credited with a European record anyway, the whole thing makes absolutely no sense. If he is running for Turkey, his 2:06 in Seoul should be a European record.


  • #4
    pconn062
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,370 ✭✭✭pconn062


    This buying of athletes by certain countries is a very simple thing that Coe could prioritise during his leadership. Unlike the doping problem, this one is easily fixed, if steps are not taking it will be very damaging for European athletics in the long term.


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