Khalid Skah
Khalid Skah is a Moroccan track and field athlete, winner of the Athletics at the [1992 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics].
Born in Midelt, Morocco, Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner by winning the IAAF World [Cross Country Championships] in 1990 and 1991.
Racing career
1991 World Championships
His first major tournament on track was the 1991 [World Championships in Athletics|1991 World Championships] where he first won a bronze in 10,000 m and then finished sixth at the 5000 m run. This was a disappointing outcome for Skah as, earlier in the season, he had won the 10000 m race in Oslo against a very strong field and had emerged as one of the favourites for the finals in Tokyo. However, for the 10 000 m final Richard Chelimo and the eventual world champion, Moses Tanui, employed some very elaborate tactics and worked as a team. By the time of the 5000 m final Skah was probably tired. Yobes Ondieki of Kenya, who won the gold medal in the 5000 m, had expected Skah to be his major rival.1992 Olympics
The following year, at the Barcelona Olympics, Skah met Chelimo again. With three laps remaining in the 10,000 m final, the two athletes were clear and battling for the gold medal. At this point the pair came to lap another Moroccan athlete, Hammou Boutayeb, who stayed with the leaders even after being lapped. The rules state that a lapped runner cannot "assist" another runner but, although Boutayeb's actions were interpreted as unsportsmanlike by the crowd, it was not certain that there was collusion. Nevertheless Skah gained advantage, Chelimo was disadvantaged. These events incensed the Spanish crowd, and the Swedish track judge Carl-Gustav Tollemar attempted to stop Boutayeb.Skah sprinted ahead of Chelimo in the final 150 m to claim victory, but was immediately disqualified, prompting cheers from the crowd. For about 14 hours, Chelimo was the Olympic champion. However, the Moroccan team appealed, and by the next morning, Skah was reinstated. The jury of appeal ruled that rule 143.2, which prohibited assistance, lacked a defined penalty, which rendered it effectively unenforceable. At the medal ceremony, Skah was met with boos, while the crowd reserved their applause for Chelimo.
Other races
In 1993 Skah won the 5000 m race at Weltklasse Zürich. However, he finished fifth in 5000 m at the 1993 World Championships. He ran his only world record in 2 miles in the same season. He won the 1994 World Semi-Marathon Championships and finished second in 10,000 m at the 1995 World Championships.Skah's last major international meet was the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he Athletics at the [1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|finished seventh in the 10 000 m]. In 1995, Skah was given Norwegian citizenship, where he lived and trained with athletes club B.U.L. After that, the Moroccan Athletics Association banned him from international competitions. Skah was reinstated in 2001, after which he tried a comeback to re-establish himself as one of the world's best long-distance runners, finishing tenth in the World Half Marathon Championships that year.