Amel Tuka (born 9 January 1991) is a Bosnian middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. His achievements include a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships as well as a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. Tuka holds national records in the 400 m and 800 m disciplines.
On 17 July 2015, with a time of 1:42.51, Tuka positioned himself as the world leader in the men's 800 metres for the year 2015. IAAF: Beijing 2015 – Men's 800m heats He subsequently earned his country's first medal in a major athletics championship with his third-place finish in the men's 800 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. He earned his second medal at the World Championships in 2019, finishing second in the men's 800 metres.
Athletics career Tuka was recruited by Atletski klub Zenica to train full-time in track and field after winning a low-profile 400m race in Zenica. He became one of the country's leading middle-distance runners, winning medals at regional and European championships. ... Tuka improved again to win in 1:42.51, which at the time made him the eleventh-fastest 800 metres runner in history and the fastest in the world that year. ...
In June 2013, Tuka won the 800 metres race at the 2013 European Team Championships Third League, running a time of 1:51.11. Less than a month later, Tuka earned third place at the 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships in the 800 metres, running a national record time of 1:46.29. After the championships, Tuka moved from his native Bosnia to Verona, Italy to train with coach Gianni Ghidini.
At the 2014 European Athletics Championships, Tuka placed sixth in the men's 800 metres final, breaking his record by running a new personal best of 1:46.12.Klix: Amel Tuka šesti na Evropskom prvenstvu, oborio lični i bh. rekord, 15 August 2014
On 1 July 2015, Tuka won the men's 800 metres at the 20th Annual International Meeting in Velenje, Slovenia and qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics by running 1:44.19. Zenica blog: Novi rekord: Amel Tuka ide na olimpijadu u Rio! 2 July 2015 On 11 July 2015, he ran even faster, winning the men's 800m in Madrid with a time of 1:43.84.IAAF: Tuka times his finish to perfection. 11 July 2015 Just six days later at the high-profile Herculis meet in Monaco, Tuka made another major improvement with a win of 1:42.51, making him the eleventh fastest 800 metres runner of all time and the fastest one in the world at the time. In the process, he earned a head-to-head victory over Olympic silver medalist Nigel Amos and defending World Champion Mohammed Aman. IAAF: Herculis Monaco Men's 800 meters results
2015 World Championships At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, Tuka's finishing speed against conventional 800-meter runners caused world record holder David Rudisha to try a rarely used strategy of slowing the pace until the final 200 metres of the race. Tuka was perfectly positioned for his normal finish but Rudisha's exceptionally fast finish and strategic positioning by his Kenyan teammate Ferguson Rotich took Tuka out of his game. Tuka finished in bronze medal position, earning Bosnia its first medal in a major athletics championship.
2016 Summer Olympics Tuka competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he finished 12th overall in the 800-meter race By reaching the semi-finals in Rio, Tuka became the first runner from Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance from the Heats stage at the Olympics. Amel Tuka was also the Bosnian flag bearer for his country at the opening ceremony of the games.
2019 World Championships At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Tuka earned his second medal at a World Athletics Championships, finishing in silver medal position with a season best time of 1:43.47 behind Donavan Brazier.
2020 Summer Olympics Tuka competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and became the first athlete from Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance to a track and field final at the Olympics, where he placed 6th in the 800-meter final.
Running style
Tuka is known for finishing strongly over the 800 metres, running the early part of the race conservatively before moving up over the final 200 metres.
Amel Tuka has said when he was younger he idolized the running style of track athlete Jeremy Wariner, who influenced him to run the 400 m (instead of the more popular 100 m), before subsequently switching to the 800 m.
Competition record Representing 2010 European Team Championships – 3rd League Marsa, Malta 1st 800 m 1:51.43 9th 4 × 400 m 3:21.49 2011 European Team Championships – 3rd League Reykjavík, Iceland 9th 400 m 49.91 3rd 4 × 400 m 3:17.16 2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 24th (sf) 800 m 1:51.14 2013 European Team Championships – 3rd League Banská Bystrica, Slovakia 3rd 400 m 47.73 1st 800 m 1:51.11 European U23 Championships Tampere, Finland 3rd 800 m 1:46.29 2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 6th 800 m 1:46.12 2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 21st (h) 800 m 1:49.92 European Games – 3rd League Baku, Azerbaijan 1st 800 m 1:50.16 World Championships Beijing, China 3rd 800 m 1:46:30 2016European ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands4th800 m1:45.74Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil12th (sf)800 m1:45.242017European Indoor ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia12th (h)800 m1:49.841World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom21st (h)800 m1:46.542018European ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany13th (sf)800 m1:47.242019European Indoor ChampionshipsGlasgow, United Kingdom6th800 m1:47.91World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar2nd800 m1:43.472021European Indoor ChampionshipsToruń, Poland5th800 m1:47.37Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan6th800 m1:45.982022European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany18th (h)800 m1:47.732023European Indoor ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey4th800 m1:47.90World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary51st (h)800 m1:49.012026Mediterranean GamesTaranto, Italy –800 mDNF Note: This table only includes major athletics championships and does not include Diamond League or World Athletics Continental Tour/IAAF World Challenge meets. 1 Did not start in the semi-finals
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