Ouhdadi, 30, faced the race at the Stade de France – which was almost packed with nearly 70,000 spectators early in the morning – with the second best personal time of the finalists (14’21″91), only behind Australian Jaryd Clifford (14’04″88), one of his main rivals, but with the best time this season (14’27″76).
The race was slow with all the riders close together until the group began to stretch out with three laps to go, when Clifford took the lead and Ouhdadi followed. The other rivals gradually fell behind.
At the bend after the finish line, two laps from the end, Ouhdadi made an effort to overtake Clifford and his guide, and accelerated with superiority until raising his arms before crossing the final straight, where he celebrated with an effusive gesture.
The Spanish athlete took 15’50’64 to win the gold medal, while the Russian Aleksandr Kostin, who is competing under a neutral flag, needed 15’52″36 to take the silver after overtaking Jaryd Clifford on the last curve, who had to settle for the bronze (15’55″23).
“It’s incredible and more exciting than in Tokyo because of the packed stadium and seeing your family here and the whole group cheering you on,” she said after winning the race, where she highlighted the fact that she had been able to touch the campaign at the foot of the track, a gesture reserved for champions and which was also done by those who won Olympic gold.
Ouhdadi admitted that he was able to “enjoy” the final metres after seeing that his rivals were further away. “I was able to raise my hands and feel like a champion. All the work we have done has paid off,” he said.
“I was interested in a faster race because if it is slow, anyone can win at the end and there are more options for other lanes. Luckily, the Australian changed, I was able to hold off his change and even in the last 400 metres I had the strength to change and take the victory,” he explained.
DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION
Ouhdadi was born in Ouarzazate (Morocco) and arrived in Spain when he was only six years old after his father emigrated to Tarragona and reunited the family there. He was born with inoperable cataracts in both eyes.
In Tinghir, at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, Oudhadi, a young boy, was playing football and discovered that he was the fastest to tire out while running. Athletics has provided him with a great motivation to push himself since 2014.
At his first World Championships, in Dubai in 2019, he debuted with a silver medal in the 5,000 metres, including a European record (14’42″12). At Paris 2023 he was proclaimed world champion in the 5,000 metres and runner-up in the 1,500 metres, while last May he revalidated his title in the 5,000 metres in the Japanese town of Kobe.
