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William Tanui first came to notice relatively late in life, when he won
the 1500m at the Kenyan Commonwealth Games trials in 1989 at the age of
25. He subsequently ran 6th at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland
on 3 February. However, it was in the 800m that Tanui made his mark
during 1990. He produced three of the 6 times under 1min 44sec recorded
that year, including a best of 1min 43.39sec when he won at Brussels on
10 August. In October, he won the 800m at the African Championships in
Cairo. In the World Indoor Championships at Seville in March 1991,
Tanui crossed the line first, but was disqualified for breaking from his
lane too early. He was not the dominant force in the 1991 outdoor
season that he had been the previous year, although he did produce his
career best time of 1min 43.30sec at Rieti on 6 September.
Tanui's
greatest moment came at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the
800m final, on 5 August, he stormed down the outside, actually finishing
in lane 3 (see photo above), to narrowly beat countryman Nixon
Kiprotich for the gold medal. Tanui was unable to repeat this form in
his only appearance at a World Championships, in Seville, the following
year, finishing 7th behind countryman Paul Ruto. Tanui concentrated
more on the 1500m in the latter part of his career, and he finished 5th
at that distance in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Despite his
earlier disappointment at the World Indoor Championships, William
competed in two further World Indoor meets, finishing third in the 1500m
at Paris in 1997, and fourth at Maebashi in 1999. In his later years,
Tanui often adopted the role of a pacemaker, particularly in world
record attempts. (Ron Casey)
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