Bayi inducted into Hall of Fame at World Athletics Museum

PARIS, FRANCE: FORMER World 1500m Olympic record-holder Filbert Bayi of Tanzania has once again brought pride to the country after being officially inducted into the Hall of Fame of World Athletics at the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA).

The event, organised by World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe, took place at the Monnaie de Paris Museum in Paris on Tuesday night, coincided with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The occasion celebrated Bayi’s remarkable achievements, including holding two world athletics records were prominently displayed at the MOWA in Monaco, France.

Lord Coe, a former World Champion in middle-distance, had previously announced Bayi’s induction into MOWA ahead of the museum’s launch on March 11, 2021, in Monaco, where Bayi was one of the distinguished athletes invited to the inauguration.

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The Tuesday event drew a rare gathering of 24 Olympic and World Champions, as well as World record-holders, to commemorate the centenary of Paavo Nurmi’s remarkable success at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games.

Nurmi, often referred to as the “Flying Finn,” won an unprecedented five gold medals in distance events during those Games with a record that remains unchallenged across the 23 editions of the Olympics since.

In tribute to Nurmi’s extraordinary accomplishment, World Athletics collaborated with the Nurmi family to showcase his five gold medals at the Monnaie de Paris, the world’s oldest mint, from March to November this year.

During the ceremony, Bayi, who serves as the Secretary of the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), was honored among the Legendary Athletes, as World Athletics acknowledged their significant contributions to the Olympic Games.

Notable attendees included Olympic champions such as Hicham El Guerrouj (1500m and 5000m), Nawal El Moutawakel and Kevin Young (400m hurdles), as well as heptathlon champion Nataliya Dobrynska, sprint hurdles champions Aries Merritt, Joanna Hayes and Olympic 10,000m champion Billy Mills. Coe, himself a champion of the 1500m in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, was also present.

Both Bayi and Mills took the opportunity to donate memorabilia to the MOWA collection.

Bayi displayed the singlet and shorts he wore while breaking the 1500m world record at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch and the mile record a year later, as well as a copy of his autobiography, Catch Me If You Can. Mills, a First Nations athlete, offered his USA tracksuit from the 1964 Olympic Games.

Mills was originally scheduled to be the guest of honor at an event for the Tokyo Olympic Games to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his gold medal run; however, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of normal social functions.

Three years later, he returned to Paris with his family to celebrate this milestone.

Coe remarked to the distinguished guests that this celebration was intentionally timed to align with the Olympic men’s 1500m final—one of the five events that Nurmi claimed victory in exactly 100 years ago.