At 33, Morhad Amdouni beat this Sunday, April 3 in Paris, the French marathon record.
A record that does not fall every week.
The previous one lasted 19 years and he was one of the oldest in blue-white-red athletics.
It was held by Benoît Zwierzchiewski, winner of the Paris marathon in 2002 who had run a year later in 2h6′36′'.
For nearly 20 years, all French marathon runners have broken their teeth on this mark before Morhad Amdouni finally lowered it to 2h05′22′', a new national benchmark.
“Morhad is a complete, exceptional athlete.
It's always flattering to have an athlete like him break a record.
He is a determined boy.
He has a hard head despite the things that may have been said about him, ”congratulates Benoît Zwierzchiewski with no resentment for a penny.
“I thought of everything and everyone in the last kilometers.
We are all citizens and it made me happy to see and hear all these people encouraging me along the way.
It feels good to be there and to play in front,” recites the new French number 1.
🔥 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲!
🇬🇧 Morhad Amdouni took a magnificent 3rd place in 2h05'22'' at the #ParisMarathon this Sunday morning!
⚡ He erases the national reference time established by Benoît Zwierchiewski at the same place in 2003: 2h06'36''!
📸 @stadion_actu pic.twitter.com/5pNyQwMmhh
– FFAthlétisme (@FFAthlétisme) April 3, 2022
What was said about Morhad Amdouni dates back to 2019. The German television channel ARD revealed that he allegedly bought doping products in 2017, publishing conversations between the athlete and a dealer who demanded money from him.
A story for which he has never been condemned or suspended but which sticks to his coattails like Captain Haddock's band-aid.
The guy rarely leaves indifferent.
Seventeenth in the Olympic marathon in Tokyo, he had created a mini-controversy by swinging all the bottles during a refueling.
Some saw it as a clumsy maneuver to confuse his opponents when he apologized for a lack of lucidity.
"My bottle wasn't at the right table, then I couldn't find it," he explains today.
It was not easy, maybe it cost me the victory.
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Remembering all this does not prevent confirming that Amdouni is one of the best French riders on all terrains: the road therefore but also the track and the cross.
Born in Porto-Vecchio in Corsica, licensed at Val d'Europe Athlétisme Nord 77 in Seine-et-Marne, Morhad Amdouni is the French cross-country champion.
He won the title last February at Les Mureaux.
“I wanted to show that I was the leader in the discipline.
I am an athlete capable of being able to run the 10,000m in 27 minutes,” he said on arrival that day.
"Don't forget me, in two years, there will be the Paris Olympics"
In Tokyo, the Seine-et-Marnais contested two races: the marathon therefore but also the 10,000 m like the best Kenyan or Ethiopian runners.
Long at the head of the 10,000 m, he had cracked at the end to finish in 10th place.
Several times French champion in the 10 km on the road, Amdouni also has an interesting international record.
European cross champion in 2011 in particular, European champion in the 10,000 m in 2021, the guy will be 35 when the Paris Olympics open.
Could he be a medal contender in the marathon or 10,000m?
It's possible even if the competition from runners from the highlands is particularly tough.
“Beating the French record feels good, I just have that to say.
I am only a beginner on the marathon and it will be necessary to count on me.
Above all, don't forget me, in two years, there will be the Paris Olympics.
For the love of sport, I'll be there!
he said simply with an idea in the back of his head.
Benoît Z sees it clearly at first going to the European distance record held by the Belgian Bashir Abdi (2h03′'36).
A record that would be worth an Olympic gold medal in two years in Paris.
Or not far.