# Ramil Guliyev

Ramil Guliyev (Azerbaijani: Ramil Eldar oğlu Quliyev; born 29 May 1990) is an Azerbaijani-born Turkish sprinter. He competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. At the 2017 World Championships, Guliyev became the World Champion in the 200 metres, winning Turkey's first ever gold medal in the World Championships. His club is Fenerbahçe Athletics. In 2018, he won the gold medal in the 200 metres at the European Championships.

## Career

He competed at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships, winning a silver medal in the 100 m and a gold medal in the 200 m. He also competed in Berlin at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, finishing seventh at the age of 19 when Usain Bolt set his world record at 200m.
He holds the national and national junior records in both events. He is also the 200 m European junior record holder and national junior record holder in the 60 metres. His 200 m time is the second fastest by a junior athlete, after Usain Bolt's 19.93 sec. He came second in the men's European Athletics Rising Star of the Year Award for his achievements in 2009.

### Move to Turkey

In April 2011, the IAAF enacted a transfer delay in line with its international rules, banning Guliyev from representing any country other than Azerbaijan until April 2014. The runner argued that the training and financial support that he received in Turkey was significant, and that the people, language, and culture were very similar between the two countries, though his home federation remained open to him representing Azerbaijan internationally again. Following negotiations with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports, Guliyev confirmed his original decision not to compete for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov explained this by Guliyev's putting forward too unreasonable financial demands for a young athlete and expressed doubt that Guliyev's representation of Turkey in the 2012 Summer Olympics would be successful.
On September 8, 2015, he ran the 200 metres race, part of the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb timed in 19.88. At the time that ranked him tied for the 34th best performer of all time and #6 for 2015.
On August 10, 2017, he won the men's 200 metre race at the London 2017 IAAF World Championship in a time of 20.09.
After his historic success he stated that "if not for Fenerbahçe, I would have probably quit athletics a long time ago. All my achievements are thanks to my club."
He won the gold medal at the 2018 European Championships with a time 19.76 s, setting the new championships record.

## Coach

His first coach was Tofig Aliyev until 2009. Guliyev's second coach was Eldar Guliyev. He was trained by his father until the latter's death from a heart attack in June 2010.

## Statistics
### Personal bests

| Event | Time | Competition | Venue | Date | Notes |
| 60 metres | 6.58 | | Sumy, Ukraine | 13 January 2012 | |
| 100 metres | 9.97 | Turkish Club Championships | Bursa, Turkey | 6 July 2017 | |
| 200 metres | 19.76 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 9 August 2018 | NR CR |
| 300 metres | 32.61 | Folksam Grand Prix | Karlstad, Sweden | 27 July 2016 | |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | 37.98 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 12 August 2018 | NR |
| 4 × 200 metres relay | 1:23.55 | World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 3 May 2015 | NR |
* All information from IAAF profile.

### International competitions

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing Azerbaijan ||||||
| 2006 | World Junior Championships | Beijing, China | 58th (h) | 100 m | 10.91 |
| 2007 | World Youth Championships | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 2nd | 200 m | 20.72 |
| 2007 | European Youth Olympic Festival | Belgrade, Serbia | 1st | 100 m | 10.50 w |
| 2007 | European Youth Olympic Festival | Belgrade, Serbia | 1st | 200 m | 20.98 GR |
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 27th (h) | 60 m | 6.84 |
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 5th | 200 m | 21.00 |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 24th (qf) | 200 m | 20.66 NR PB |
| 2009 | European Indoor Championships | Turin, Italy | 7th | 60 m | 6.67 |
| 2009 | Universiade | Belgrade, Serbia | 1st | 200 m | 20.04 NR PB |
| 2009 | European Junior Championships | Novi Sad, Serbia | 2nd | 100 m | 10.16 |
| 2009 | European Junior Championships | Novi Sad, Serbia | 1st | 200 m | 20.33 CR |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 7th | 200 m | 20.61 |
| Representing Turkey ||||||
| 2013 | Mediterranean Games | Mersin, Turkey | 2nd | 100 m | 10.23 SB |
| 2013 | Mediterranean Games | Mersin, Turkey | 2nd | 200 m | 20.46 SB |
| 2013 | Universiade | Kazan, Russia | 8th (sf) | 200 m | 20.84 |
| 2014 | European Team Championships | Braunschweig, Germany | 3rd | 100 m | 10.37 |
| 2014 | European Team Championships | Braunschweig, Germany | 2nd | 200 m | 20.57 |
| 2014 | European Team Championships | Braunschweig, Germany | 11th | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.25 |
| 2014 | Balkan Championships | Pitești, Romania | 1st | 100 m | 10.24 |
| 2014 | Balkan Championships | Pitești, Romania | 1st | 200 m | 21.04 |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | – | 100 m | DQ |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 6th | 200 m | 20.48 |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 14th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.83 PB |
| 2015 | World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 9th (h) | 4 × 200 m relay | 1:23.55 NR PB |
| 2015 | European Team Championships | Heraklion, Greece | 1st | 200 m | 20.67 SB |
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju, South Korea | 3rd | 100 m | 10.16 |
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju, South Korea | 3rd | 200 m | 20.59 SB |
| 2015 | Balkan Championships | Pitești, Romania | 1st | 200 m | 20.59 |
| 2015 | Balkan Championships | Pitești, Romania | 1st | 4×100 m relay | 39.35 PB |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 6th | 200 m | 20.11 |
| 2016 | Balkan Championships | Pitești, Romania | 1st | 100 m | 10.30 |
| 2016 | Balkan Championships | Pitești, Romania | 1st | 200 m | 20.98 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 6th | 100 m | 10.23 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2nd | 200 m | 20.51 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 14th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.58 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8th | 200 m | 20.43 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 10th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.30 PB |
| 2017 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Baku, Azerbaijan | 1st | 100 m | 10.06 PB GR |
| 2017 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Baku, Azerbaijan | 1st | 200 m | 20.08 SB GR |
| 2017 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Baku, Azerbaijan | 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.56 |
| 2017 | European Team Championships | Vaasa, Finland | 1st | 200 m | 20.20 CR |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, England | 1st | 200 m | 20.09 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, England | 7th | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.73 |
| 2018 | Mediterranean Games | Tarragona, Spain | 1st | 200 m | 20.15 GR |
| 2018 | Mediterranean Games | Tarragona, Spain | 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.50 |
| 2018 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 200 m | 19.76 NR PB CR |
| 2018 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.98 NR PB |
| 2018 | Continental Cup | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 2nd | 200 m | 20.28$^1$ |
| 2018 | Continental Cup | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.96$^1$ |
| 2019 | World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | 7th | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.13 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 5th | 200 m | 20.07 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | – | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ |
| 2021 | World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | 14th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.59 |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 14th (sf) | 200 m | 20.31 |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | – | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ |
| 2022 | Mediterranean Games | Oran, Algeria | 2nd | 100 m | 10.16 |
| 2022 | Mediterranean Games | Oran, Algeria | 1st | 200 m | 20.21 |
| 2022 | Mediterranean Games | Oran, Algeria | 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.98 |
| 2022 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Konya, Turkey | 2nd | 200 m | 20.24 |
| 2022 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Konya, Turkey | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.74 |
| 2022 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 9th (sf) | 200 m | 20.44$^2$ |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 38th (h) | 200 m | 20.89 |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 17th (sf) | 200 m | 20.87 |
$^1$Representing Europe
$^2$Did not finish in the final

### Circuit wins
#### 200 m

* IAAF Diamond League
** Stockholm: 2018
** Paris: 2017
** Birmingham: 2017
** Oslo: 2018
** Doha: 2019

#### 4 × 100 m relay

* IAAF Diamond League
** Stockholm: 2016

### Track records

As of 6 September 2024, Guliyev holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres.

#### 100 metres

| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s | Date |
| Baku | 10.06 | + 0.6 | 16/05/2017 |

#### 200 metres

| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s | Date |
| Bursa | 20.13 | + 2.2 | 07/07/2017 |
| Šamorín | 19.98 | + 7.1 | 17/06/2017 |
| Zagreb | 19.88 | – 0.4 | 08/09/2015 |

## World Rankings

Guiliyev was ranked among the best in the world in the 200 m sprint event in 2009 and in the period 2015 to 2019, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.
Representing Azerbaijan:
200 meters :
| Year | World rank |
| 2009 | 9th |
Representing Turkey:
200 meters :
| Year | World rank |
| 2015 | 7th |
| 2016 | - |
| 2017 | 1st |
| 2018 | 2nd |
| 2019 | 3rd |

## Awards

* 2017 Turkish Athlete of the Year
* 2018 Turkish Athlete of the Year