The Most Famous
ATHLETES from Tanzania
Top 7
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Tanzanian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Tanzanian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Filbert Bayi (b. 1953)
With an HPI of 42.00, Filbert Bayi is the most famous Tanzanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.
Filbert Bayi Sanka (born June 23, 1953) is a Tanzanian former middle-distance runner who competed throughout the 1970s. He set the world records for 1500 metres in 1974 and the mile in 1975. His world record in the 1500 m was also the Commonwealth Games record until 2022.
2. Suleiman Nyambui (b. 1953)
With an HPI of 39.62, Suleiman Nyambui is the 2nd most famous Tanzanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Suleiman Nyambui (born February 13, 1953) is a former track athlete from Tanzania who specialized in various long-distance disciplines. Nyambui won the bronze medal at the 1978 All-Africa Games, the silver medal in 5000 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and finished first at three consecutive marathons between 1987 and 1988. He holds multiple indoor national records of Tanzania in athletics.
3. Christine Prinsloo (b. 1952)
With an HPI of 33.51, Christine Prinsloo is the 3rd most famous Tanzanian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Christine Seraphine "Chris" Prinsloo (born 3 May 1952 in Oldeani, Tanganyika) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe, who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries, only one team was available to compete in the Women's Field Hockey Tournament: the hosting USSR team. A late request was sent to the government of the African nation, which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started. To everyone's surprise they won, claiming Zimbabwe's only medal in the 1980 Games.
4. Gergely Salim (b. )
With an HPI of 0.00, Gergely Salim is the 4th most famous Tanzanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into different languages.
Gergely Salim (born April 1, 1972 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania) is a Hungarian-Danish taekwondo practitioner, but lives now in Los Angeles as an American citizen.
5. Alphonce Simbu (b. 1992)
With an HPI of 0.00, Alphonce Simbu is the 5th most famous Tanzanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into different languages.
Alphonce Felix Simbu (born 14 February 1992) is a Tanzanian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He competed in the marathon event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China. In December 2024 he finished 4th in Valencia Marathon and set his personal best at 2:04:38. He competed for Tanzania at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon. He finished 5th with a time of 2:11.15. He was the flag bearer for Tanzania during the closing ceremony. He won the 14th edition of the Mumbai Marathon on 15 January 2017. The same year he won the bronze medal at the 2017 World Athletics Championships Marathon with a time of 2:09:51. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. He finished in 16th place. In June 2021, he qualified to represent Tanzania at the 2020 Summer Olympics where he secured 7th place with a time of 2:11:35. He won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the men's marathon event.
6. Gabriel Geay (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 0.00, Gabriel Geay is the 6th most famous Tanzanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into different languages.
Gabriel Gerald Geay (born 10 September 1996) is a Tanzanian professional long-distance runner. He finished second at the 2023 Boston Marathon. Geay is the Tanzanian national record holder for the marathon. He also has the fastest Marathon time for a person born outside of Kenya or Ethiopia.
7. Jack Cleary (b. )
With an HPI of 0.00, Jack Cleary is the 7th most famous Tanzanian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into different languages.
Jack Cleary may refer to: Jack Cleary (footballer, born 1911), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy Jack Cleary (footballer, born 1922), Australian rules footballer for Hawthorn Jack Cleary (rower), Australian rower
People
Pantheon has 7 people classified as Tanzanian athletes born between 1952 and 1996. Of these 7, 7 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Tanzanian athletes include Filbert Bayi, Suleiman Nyambui, and Christine Prinsloo. As of April 2024, 4 new Tanzanian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Gergely Salim, Alphonce Simbu, and Gabriel Geay.
Living Tanzanian Athletes
Go to all Rankings
Filbert Bayi
1953 - Present
HPI: 42.00
Suleiman Nyambui
1953 - Present
HPI: 39.62
Christine Prinsloo
1952 - Present
HPI: 33.51
Gergely Salim
HPI: 0.00
Alphonce Simbu
1992 - Present
HPI: 0.00
Gabriel Geay
1996 - Present
HPI: 0.00
Jack Cleary
HPI: 0.00
Newly Added Tanzanian Athletes (2024)
Go to all RankingsGergely Salim
HPI: 0.00
Alphonce Simbu
1992 - Present
HPI: 0.00
Gabriel Geay
1996 - Present
HPI: 0.00
Jack Cleary
HPI: 0.00
