Yusuf Saad Kamel

Yusuf Saad Kamel (Arabic: يوسف سعد كامل), born Gregory Konchellah (born March 29, 1983) is a male former middle-distance runner who competed in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Born in Narok, Kenya – the son of former two-time 800 metres World Champion Billy Konchellah – he represented Bahrain internationally. Kamel won the gold in the 1500 m and bronze in 800 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin.^[1]

Yusuf Saad Kamel

Kamel at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin
Personal information
Birth name	Gregory Konchellah
Born	(1983-03-29) March 29, 1983 (age 42) Narok, Kenya
Sport
Country	Bahrain
Sport	Men's athletics
Event(s)	800 metres, 1500 metres
Retired	2016
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800 m: 1:42.79 min (2008) 1500 m: 3:31.56 min (2009)
Medal record World Championships 2009 Berlin 1500 m 2009 Berlin 800 m IAAF World Indoor Championships 2008 Valencia 800 m

In early 2009 he stopped competing for Bahrain claiming unpaid salary and bonuses. He was willing to compete for Kenya, but his Kenyan passport was held by Bahraini officials. Without a passport, he was unable to compete in any competition. Several other Kenyan runners who took Bahraini citizenship have also left Bahrain and are vying to compete for Kenya.^[2] However, he returned to the track in July 2009 at the Athletissima meeting, still representing Bahrain. Subsequently, Athletics Kenya stopped to handle his attempt to compete for Kenya.^[3]

At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu he only participated at the 1500 m but just failed to qualify for the final.

He trained with PACE Sports Management under Ricky Simms.

Statistics

Competition record

Kamel after taking the 1500 m gold at the 2009 World Championships

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
2004	Asian Indoor Championships	Tehran, Iran	3rd	800 m	1:48.89
	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	3rd (semis)	800 m	1:47.16
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	3rd (heats)	800 m	1:46.94
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	1st	800 m	1:45.91
	Pan Arab Games	Algiers, Algeria	1st	800 m	1:46.12
2005	Arab Championships	Tunis, Tunisia	1st	800 m	1:47.36
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	3rd	800 m	1:44.90
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	2nd	800 m	1:47.13
2006	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	6th	800 m	1:47.62
	World Cup	Athens, Greece	1st	800 m	1:44.98
	Asian Games	Doha, Qatar	1st	800 m	1:45.74
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	9th (semis)	800 m	1:45.31
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	800 m	1:45.61 CR
2008	Asian Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	1st	800 m	1:48.03 CR
	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	3rd	800 m	1:45.26
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	5th	800 m	1:44.95
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	800 m	1:49.40
			5th	1500 m	3:38.50
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	3rd	800 m	1:45.35
			1st	1500 m	3:35.93
	World Athletics Final	Thessaloniki, Greece	4th	1500 m	3:36.11
2010	West Asian Championships	Aleppo, Syria	3rd	1500 m	3:40.58
	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China	9th (heats)	1500 m	3:58.80
2011	Military World Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	5th	800 m	1:46.89
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	6th (semis)	1500 m	3:47.18
2013	Asian Championships	Pune, India	6th	800 m	1:50.54
	Islamic Solidarity Games	Palembang, Indonesia	4th	1500 m	1:48.27
2014	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea	—	800 m	DNF

Circuit wins

800 metres

• Memorial Van Damme: 2008.
• ISTAF Berlin: 2004.

See also

• List of middle-distance runners
• List of eligibility transfers in athletics
• List of World Athletics Championships medalists (men)
• List of sportspeople who competed for more than one nation
• List of Asian Games medalists in athletics
• List of IAAF World Indoor Championships medalists (men)
• 800 metres at the World Championships in Athletics
• 1500 metres at the World Championships in Athletics