Ikem Billy

Ikem G Billy (born 25 January 1964) is a British former middle-distance runner who specialised in the 800 metres. He was the bronze medallist at the 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games and a silver medallist at the 1989 Summer Universiade. He was a two-time national champion, with one win outdoors and one indoors. His 800 m personal best is 1:00.25 minutes. He represented his country at the IAAF World Indoor Championships on two occasions and England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

Ikem Billy
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1964-01-25) 25 January 1964
Birkenhead, Cheshire
Sport
SportAthletics
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  Great Britain
IAAF World Indoor Games
1985 Paris800 m

Career

Billy grew in the Wirral and took up running at an early age, first representing England at the age of thirteen.[1] His first success came at the 1983 European Athletics Junior Championships, where he won the 800 m gold medal.[2] He was the English schools champion and AAA Indoor Junior champion over 800 m that same year.[3][4]

His major senior debut followed at the 1984 European Athletics Indoor Championships, where he narrowly missed a medal in fourth place behind fellow Briton Phil Norgate.[5][6] He achieved his personal best of 1:44.65 minutes that year, but was overlooked for the British Olympic team for the 1984 Los Angeles Games.[7] His first national title followed at the 1985 AAA Indoor Championships and his form continued to the 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games, taking a bronze medal at the inaugural event.[8][9] He injured himself in 1986, which disrupted his career for two and a half years.[1]

He made his return to senior athletics with sixth place finishes at the 1988 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships.[6] He took his first and only career title at the AAA Championships in 1989, and was also the British Universities champion over 400 metres.[10][11] He represented Great Britain at the Universiade and claimed the silver medal. behind Finland's Ari Suhonen.[12]

Billy defeated Coe at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, but was still out of the medals in fifth place.[13] The last major outing of Billy's career was the 1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships but he was far from his best form, being eliminated in the heats with a time of 1:49.09 minutes.[14]

International competitions
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1983 European Junior Championships Schwechat, Austria 1st 800 m 1:47.15
1984 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 4th 800 m 1:48.41
1985 World Indoor Games Paris, France 3rd 800 m 1:48.28
1988 European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 6th 800 m 1:50.36
1989 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 6th 800 m 1:48.97
Universiade Duisburg, Germany 2nd 800 m 1:47.29
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 5th 800 m 1:47.16
1991 World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain 10th (h) 800 m 1:49.09

National titles

References
  1. Ikem Billy – European Junior Champion. Wirral AC (July 2015). Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  2. European Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  3. English Schools Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  4. AAA Junior Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  5. European Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  6. Ikem Billy. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  7. Ikem Billy. Power of 10. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  8. AAA Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  9. World Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  10. AAA Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  11. British Universities Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  12. World Student Games (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  13. Seb Coe's last race was fixed so he could win, says runner who took $10,000 to lose. Herald Scotland (2012-12-20). Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
  14. Ikem Billy. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-02-14.
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