Said Aouita

Saïd Aouita, 1987

Saïd Aouita ( Arabic سعيد عويطة, DMG Saʿīd ʿAwīṭa ; * November 2, 1959 in Kenitra ) is a former Moroccan middle and long distance runner who became Olympic champion over 5000 meters in 1984 .

Career

Saïd Aouita dominated the middle distance distances between 800 and 5000 meters during the 1980s. Since he was also in the extended world elite over 10,000 meters and 3000 meters in obstacles, he is often referred to as the perfect all-rounder among medium and long-distance runners. To date, only Aouita has managed to run 800 meters under 1:44 minutes, 1500 meters under 3:30 minutes, 3000 meters under 7:30 minutes and 5000 meters under 13:00 minutes. He won races against the Olympic champions Joaquim Cruz (800 m), Peter Rono (1500 m), John Ngugi (5000 m) and Alberto Cova (10,000 m) on their respective specialist distances.

Aouita's first major success came at the first World Athletics Championships in 1983 in Helsinki over 1500 meters. In the final run, Aouita showed tactical weaknesses and had to let Steve Cram and Steve Scott go first. Aouita then decided to compete over 5000 meters at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles . The 5000 meter final was led at a fast pace by António Leitão from Portugal. On the last lap, Aouita managed to overtake Leitão in the sprint.

In the 1985 season, Aouita set two world records : 5000 meters in 13: 00.40 min on July 27 in Oslo and 1500 meters in 3: 29.46 min on 23 August in Berlin. This was preceded by Aouita's bitterest defeat (and one of only four in 119 races between 1983 and 1990). In a 1500 meter race in Nice on July 16, Steve Cram broke the world record and was the first person to stay under 3:30 minutes. Aouita only stayed in second place, although he ran the last 100 meters in 13.0 seconds in this race and almost beat Cram, which established his reputation as a super tracker. In 1986 Aouita won the IAAF Grand Prix. In 1987 he managed to break the world record held by Steve Cram over 2000 meters with a time of 4: 50.81 minutes. Only six days later he improved his own world record over 5000 meters and was the first person to run this distance under 13 minutes in 12: 58.39 minutes.

At the 1987 World Championships in Rome, John Ngugi from Kenya initially ran at a moderate pace over 5000 meters . Aouita trusted in his higher top speed and won the race after a mass sprint on the last lap in a time of 13: 26.44 minutes.

At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, he tried the double, but not over 5000 and 10,000 meters as expected, but over 800 and 1500 meters. Although he managed to get to the final of the 800-meter run; due to an injury he finally had to be satisfied with the bronze medal. Aouita is the only athlete in the history of the Olympic Games to win medals in the 800 and 5000 meters. Because of the injury, he could no longer compete in the semifinals over 1500 meters.

Aouita won the 3000 meters at the World Indoor Championships the following year. In the open-air season, at the ASV sports festival in Cologne, he finally managed to break Henry Rono's world record over 3000 meters, which he had attacked several times in vain. Here, too, he was the first person to break new ground in 7: 29.45 minutes. With the beginning of the 1990s, however, the injuries increased, and Aouita could no longer build on old times. In 1991 he reached only an 11th place over 1500 meters at the World Championships in Tokyo . In 1992 he reported again with an indoor world record over 3000 meters (7: 36.66 min), which was not recognized by the IAAF because Aouita had broken a lane marker. Further comeback attempts in 1993 and 1995 failed.

He was first trained in Morocco by Aziz Daouda, who had received his education in Bucharest and Montreal, before moving to Marignane . His very intensive training was based on the English role models influenced by Frank Horwill , in that he trained different (but never more than five) racing speeds on the basis of cross races in winter. After his career as a runner, he first became a trainer in Morocco, where he fought with the association, as he demanded better training conditions for his athletes. He then became a long-distance coach in Australia. However, his engagement only lasted 18 months as he allegedly prescribed growth hormone to his athletes . He then moved to the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Qatar , where he also works for Al Jazeera in the sports sector.

Saïd Aouita is one of the great legends in medium and long distance running. At times he held the national records of Morocco on all distances from 800 to 10,000 meters including a 3000 meter obstacle. In the "eternal" world best list, he advanced to the following positions at various points in his career: 800 m (13); 1000 m (6); 1500 m (1); 1 mile (2); 2000 m (1); 3000 m (1); 2 miles (2); 5000 m (1); 10,000 m (6); 3000 m obstacle (82). In the history of athletics, only the Kenyan Kipchoge Keino can show a halfway comparable range .

Best times

• 800 m : 1: 43.86 min, August 21, 1988, Cologne
• 1000 m: 2: 15.16 min, August 28, 1988, London
• 1500 m: 3: 29.46 min, August 23, 1985, Berlin
  • Hall: 3: 37.33 min, February 28, 1989, Seville
• 1 mile : 3: 46.76 min, July 2, 1987, Helsinki
  • Hall: 3: 54.99 min, February 17, 1989, Inglewood
• 2000 m : 4: 50.81 min, July 16, 1987, Paris
• 3000 m : 7: 29.45 min, August 20, 1989, Cologne
  • Hall: 7: 39.71 min, February 10, 1989, East Rutherford
  • Hall: 7: 36.66 min, March 11, 1992, Piraeus (disqualified for entering the interior)
• 2 miles: 8: 13.45 min, May 28, 1987, Turin
• 5000 m: 12: 58.39 min, July 22nd 1987, Rome
  • Hall: 13: 22.56 min, February 5, 1989, Fairfax (Virginia)
• 10,000 m : 27: 26.11 min, July 5, 1986, Oslo
• 3000 m obstacle: 8: 21.92 min, September 24, 1987, Latakia

Web links

• Saïd Aouita in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Saïd Aouita in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.thegreatdistancerunners.de/Said%20Aouita.pdf
2. ↑ http://www.thegreatdistancerunners.de/Said%20Aouita.pdf
3. ↑ Arnd Krüger (1998): Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in the training systems for middle and long distance runners (1850-1997), in: N. GISSEL (Hrsg.): Sportliche Leistungs im Wandel . Hamburg: Czwalina, pp. 41 - 56.
4. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Australia to sample Aouita drug allegations; http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=%2F2006%2F2%2F19%2Fsports%2F13442784&sec=sports