Background
Borzakovskiy was born at Kratovo, in the Moscow oblast.
athletics competitor middle-distance runner
Borzakovskiy was born at Kratovo, in the Moscow oblast.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics he reached the 800 m final, in which he finished sixth.
He was named for the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Borzakovskiy"s first major international success was a victory at the 2000 European Indoor Championships when he was only 18 years old. On 24 August 2001, Borzakovskiy posted a time of 1:42.47 minutes.
That currently makes him the 10th fastest man in history over that distance.
In addition, Borzakovskiy was ranked Number.1 in the world in that year. In 2002, Borzakovskiy ran the 400 m at the European Championships in Munich but lost in the early stages.
The following season he picked up a silver medal over 800 m at the World Championships in Paris. At the Olympics he employed the same strategy, using this "late charge" to come from behind in the last 150 meters to pass world record holder Wilson Kipketer, who was leading with only 20 metres to go, and take the victory.
Borzakovskiy"s decisive pass so deflated Kipketer that he allowed Mbulaeni Mulaudzi to nip him at the line.
In the 2005 World Championships he took silver in the 800 m competition, overtaking everyone but Bahrain"s Rashid Ramzi on the final straight. The final ran at a very slow pace and he was boxed in on the final lap which slowed down his sprint in the last 100 m. In 2008 he made an impressive comeback by posting a time of 1:42.79 minutes, his first time under 1:43 since 2001.
He made the Olympic team at the Beijing Olympics but unexpectedly failed to qualify for the 800 m final, finishing only third in his semifinal heat.
On 23 August he placed fourth at the final of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin in 1:45.57. Most of his 2010 season was lost due to an injury.
In this race, Borzakovskiy ran most of the last lap in second place and was himself overtaken just before the finish line. At the 2012 London Olympics, he failed to make the finals as he was eliminated in the semi-final round.