This is a list of track and field athletes who have moved to compete for another national association or federation. Such moves are called transfers of allegiance by the World Athletics. [1]
Transfers to countries that are members of the Asian Athletics Association.
Transfers to countries that are members of the European Athletic Association.
Saif Saaeed Shaheen, formerly Stephen Cherono, is a retired steeplechase runner. He was born in Keiyo, Kenya but now he represents Qatar. He was, for 19 years, the world record holder for 3000 metre steeplechase. He is a two time World Champion in the event. His older brother Abraham Cherono is also a steeplechase runner.
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to 3 miles 188 yards or 16,404 feet 2 inches. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over 12+1⁄2 laps of a standard track. The same distance in road running is called a 5K run; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men's competition and since 1995 in women's.
The 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 11 October 2009. It was the final event of the International Association of Athletics Federations' 2009 World Athletics Series.
David Lekuta Rudisha, MBS is a retired Kenyan middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 m at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic games. He is also a two-time World champion and two-time Diamond League champion in the 800 m. Rudisha is the first and only person to ever run 800 m under 1:41, and he holds the three fastest times ever run in this event, each being a world record when set.
Shara Proctor is a British former long jumper born in Anguilla. She is the national record holder of both Anguilla and Great Britain. On 28 August 2015 at the World Championships in Beijing she became the first British, female, long-jumper to jump over 7 metres (7.07), setting a new British record and earning a world championship silver medal in the process. She also won the 2013 IAAF Diamond League in the event. Her younger sister is the Anguillan sprinter Shinelle Proctor.
Alexis Copello is a Cuban-Azerbaijani triple jumper who since 2017 competes internationally for Azerbaijan. He has a (legal) personal best jump of 17.68 metres (58.0 ft). He is a World Championship medalist, having won the bronze at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He is 1.85 metres tall and weighs 80 kilograms (176 lbs).
İlham Tanui Özbilen is a middle distance runner now representing Turkey. The 1.77 m (5.8 ft) tall athlete weighs 60 kg (130 lb). He is coached by Kenyan Patrick Sang.
The 2010 New York City Marathon was the 41st running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on Sunday, November 7. Sponsored by ING Group, the competition was the fifth World Marathon Major of 2010 and an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. A record 45,344 people were entered into the race. Ethiopian runner Gebregziabher Gebremariam won the men's race in a time of two hours, eight minutes and fourteen seconds on his debut performance over the distance. Edna Kiplagat of Kenya took first place in the women's race with her winning time of 2:28:20.
Zharnel Hughes is an Anguilla-born British sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Born and raised in the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla, he has competed internationally for Great Britain in the Olympic Games, World Athletics and European Athletics events, and for England at the Commonwealth Games, since 2015. A double Commonwealth Games, double European Championships gold medalist as part of the 4 x 100 metres relay, Hughes has twice been European champion individually; over 100 metres in 2018, and 200 metres in 2022. In 2023, he broke both British sprint records, before winning his first global individual medal, a bronze in the 100 metres at the 2023 World championships.
Hillary Kipsang Yego is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the steeplechase. He has a personal best of 8:03.57 minutes for the event. He was the gold medallist at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics.
Ali Kaya is a Turkish long-distance runner of Kenyan origin competing in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events. He holds the 10,000 m European record for juniors, set in 2013.
Betsy Saina is a Kenyan-American athlete in long distance running. She was born in Kenya and now competes for the United States.
El Hassan El-Abbassi is a Moroccan-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. He was the gold medallist in the 10,000 metres at the 2014 Asian Games and the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships. He has a personal best of 27:25.02 minutes for that distance.
Yasemin Can is a Kenyan female long distance runner representing Turkey who specialises in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. She is the reigning 10,000 m European champion. Can is a six-time European Championship medalist, including three gold medals and the 5000 m/10,000 m double in 2016, and a four-time European Cross Country champion.
Winfred Mutile Yavi is a Kenyan-born Bahraini female athlete who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Currently the second fastest athlete in history at the distance with a personal best of 8:44.39, she won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, setting a new Olympic record. Yavi hails from Ukia, Makueni County. She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships beating Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya and finished fourth at both the 2019 and 2022 World Athletics Championships. Yavi won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. She took bronze in the 1500 metres, gold in the 5000 metres and gold for the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships.
The following table is an overview of national records in the 5000 metres.
The following table is an overview of all national records in the 10,000 metres.
"Ho preso la cittadinanza per matrimonio, ma l'atletica non c'entra niente: ho conosciuto mio marito quando non gareggiavo più, mentre lavoravo a un campo estivo. Ci siamo sposati cinque anni fa ma ho aspettato un po' prima di prendere la naturalizzazione"
