Born in Terik Location of South Nandi District, William Tanui first came to notice relatively late in life, when he won the 1500 m at the Kenyan Commonwealth Games trials in 1989, but ran only sixth at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. In the same year he won the 800 m at the African Championships in Cairo. In the World Indoor Championships at Seville in 1991, Tanui crossed the line first, but was disqualified for breaking from his lane too early. He won 800 metres in the 1991 All-Africa Games.
Tanui's greatest moment came at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the 800 m final he stormed down the outside, actually finishing in lane 3, to narrowly beat a fellow countryman Nixon Kiprotich for the gold medal. Tanui was unable to repeat this form in his only appearance at a World Championships, at Stuttgart in 1993, finishing seventh.
He finished 2nd at the IAAF World Cup 800 metres race in 1992 and 1994.[1]
Tanui concentrated more on the 1500 m in the latter part of his career, and he finished fifth at that distance in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. At the World Indoor Championships, Tanui finished third in the 1500 m at Paris in 1997, and fourth at Maebashi in 1999.
*Distances have varied as follows: Mile (1940–2002) and 1932, 2007 and odd numbered years since 2011, 1500 meters (1933–1939), (2003–6, 2008–2010) and even numbered years since 2010
Kenya 
