Ramil Guliyev

Biography

Ramil Guliyev is an Azerbaijani born short distance sprinter. He moved to Turkey and competes for Turkey in the international events. He is famous for his 100m and 200m sprints.

Childhood, Family, Personal Life

Ramil Guliyev was born on 29 May 1990 in Baku, Azerbaijan to Eldar Quliyev(father) and his wife. Eldar Quliyev was an athletics trainer and he trained his son Ramil himself.

Career

Ramil started his career as a Junior athlete, he represented Azerbaijan his country of birth until his senior years.

European Athletics Junior Championships(2009): He won a silver Medal at the tournament in 100M sprint and a Gold Medal in the 200M race. His 200M specialty was evident even back then.

He came second at the European Athlete of the Year Trophy held in 2009 at the Berlin (See the profile pic).

Moving to Turkey & Ban: Ramil was given financial support by the Turkish authorities, he moved his base to Turkey and trained there. According to International Athletics Association rules a player can not compete for any other country for 3 years from the last time he competed for a different country.

He requested change of country in April 2011, and was banned to represent any other country till April 2014. He was however allowed to participate for Azerbaijan till the date.

Ramil Guliyev- Interesting Facts & Trivia

• Ramil Guliyev trains at the Fenerbahçe Athletics club.
• He won Gold at the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
• After the win at the World championships he was congratulated by both Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey & Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.
• Before moving to Turkey he requested 5000 Manats for support, but it was declined.
• He won Turkey its first Gold Medal at the 2017 World Championships.
• After winning at the World Championships in 2017 he was draped in both Azerbaijani & Turkish, as a mark of respect for both his ancestral roots and the adopted land.
• National Record: He holds National record in both 100m and 200m  disciplines.
• European junior record: He holds the record in 200M discipline.
• Junior International record: He is the second fastest junior athlete in 200m discipline, he is only next to Usain Bolt
• Personal fastest 100m timings: Ramil recorded his personal best of 9.97 in 2017
• Personal fastest 200m timings: Ramil's personal best in 200m race is 19.88, recorded in 2015 at the Zagreb
• He is the 34th fastest 200m sprinter in the recorded history of the game.
• When he was looked to move out, he sought contracts with Turkey and Russia. Russia was bit slow in replying and he went to Turkey.
• After his win at the European championships Azerbaijan Govt. offered him an apartment, but it was bit late as he had already signed up with Turkish club.
• Azerbaijani sports minister made a bitter remark that Ramil won't even be making the top 10 at the 2012 Olympics. (It was before confirmation that Ramil couldn't compete for Turkey)
• He was a winner at the world university sprint with a record 20.04 seconds in 200m.
• Qatar also bid to take Ramil, but Ramil felt he was more at home in Turkey with similar culture and language.
• He is sponsored by Nike.
• Azerbaijan media called him their 'Usain Bolt'
• Among the caucasian athletes, he is the fastest currently. He is also the first Gold winning caucasian athlete since 1988 in 200m sprint

Ramil Guliyev Quotes

• I wanted to win and this year I thought it was possible and I made it. I believed in myself.
• When you race, you need to do your job. You run at your maximum.
• I did not get help from the Azerbaijani Sports Authorities even after long requests, it is hard to train without financial help in these conditions. Turkey offered me a salary 10 times more. I earned almost nothing in Azerbaijan.
• I do not feel any difference between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the language and culture are the same in both countries.
• I was competing against some of the best athletes in the world, so it didn't bother me that the attention was on them