Saif Saaeed Shaheen

Saif Saaeed Shaheen
nation	Qatar / Kenya
birthday	October 15, 1982
place of birth	Keiyo
size	177 cm
Weight	64 kg
Career
discipline	Long distance running
Best performance	7: 53.63 min ( 3000 m obstacle )
status	resigned
Medal table
World championships 2 × 0 × 0 × Indoor World Cup 0 × 1 × 0 × Commonwealth Games 1 × 0 × 0 ×
World championships gold Paris 2003 3000 m obstacle gold Helsinki 2005 3000 m obstacle  Indoor world championships silver Moscow 2006 3000 m  Commonwealth Games gold Manchester 2002 3000 m obstacle

Saif Saaeed Shaheen ( Arabic سيف سعيد شاهين Saif Sa'id Shahin , DMG Saif Saʿīd Šāhīn ; Birth name Stephen Cherono ; * 15. October 1982 in Keiyo ) is a Qatari distance runners Kenyan origin, since 2002, the citizenship of Qatar has. He became particularly famous for his world championship victories and the world record in the 3000 meter obstacle course .

Life

At a young age he celebrated success in athletics. In 1999 he became youth world champion in the 2000 meter obstacle course (5: 31.89 min) under the name Stephen Cherono. In 2003 in Paris and 2005 in Helsinki , he became world champion in the 3000 meter obstacle course. Shaheen has been the world record holder in this discipline since 2004 . In Brussels he covered the distance in 7: 53.63 minutes.

With a height of 1.77 m, he has a competition weight of 64 kg. Since his older brother Abraham Cherono has also been a successful obstacle runner and became world champion in cross-country running.

Change of citizenship

In 2002 he decided to start for the Gulf state of Qatar in the future. He changed nationality and changed his name from Stephen Cherono to Saif Saaeed Shaheen . Many observers see financial reasons behind the change. He rejected allegations that he received an amount of up to one million dollars for this bill.

One of the reasons for the change of nationality is the harshness of the Kenyan elimination competitions before world championships and the Olympic Games , in which many hopeful athletes cannot prevail.

The Kenyan government sharply criticized Shaheen's move. President Mwai Kibaki said in a speech ahead of the 2005 World Championships : “Let us resist the temptation to change our citizenship for financial gain.” The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge also expressed concern: “It is bad when Countries or organizations want to buy athletes for money. "

Athletes like Moses Kiptanui , a former world record holder in the obstacle course, expressed understanding for Shaheen's step and referred to the poor living conditions for top athletes in Kenya.

The IOC banned Shaheen for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and passed a regulation banning athletes from participating in an international competition for a period of three years if they had previously entered such a competition for another country. This rule can be ignored if the athlete and the two associations involved agree, but in Shaheen's case the Kenyan Athletics Association refused to allow a start in Athens.

Personal bests

• 1500 m: 3: 33.51 min
• 2000 m: 5: 03.06 min
• 3000 m: 7: 34.69 min
• 2 miles: 8: 18.80 min
• 5000 m: 12: 48.81 min
• 2000 m obstacle: 5: 14.53 min
• 3000 m obstacle: 7: 53.63 min

Web links

Commons : Saif Saaeed Shaheen  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Saif Saaeed Shaheen in the database of World Athletics (English)

Individual proof

1. ↑ Saif Saaeed Shaheen, 3000m steeplechase world record holder resigns on africanews.com (English), accessed on June 4, 2018