Morhad Amdouni

Morhad Amdouni
Amdouni winning the 10,000 m at the 2018 European Championships
Personal information
Born (1988-06-21) 21 June 1988 (age 36)
Porto-Vecchio, France
Sport
CountryFrance
SportAthletics
Event(s)5000 metres
10,000 metres
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  France
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Berlin 10,000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Berlin 5000 m
European Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Cheboksary 5000 m
European 10,000m Cup
Silver medal – second place 2018 London 10,000 m
European U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Hengelo 5000 m
European Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Toro U20 race
Gold medal – first place 2007 Toro U20 team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Albufeira Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Velenje Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Turin Team
Silver medal – second place 2015 Hyères Team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 San Giorgio su Legnano U20 team
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Brussels U23 team

Morhad Amdouni (Arabic: مراد عمدوني; born 21 June 1988)[1] is a French middle- and long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the 2018 European Athletics Championships.

Amdouni was the European under-20 champion in track (5000 m) and cross country running in 2007. He is the French record holder for the marathon and won two national titles.

Personal life

Born in France on the island of Corsica, Amdouni is of Tunisian descent.[2]

Running career

Amdouni made his junior international debut in the 1500 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics but did not progress past the heats.[3] At the 2006 European Cross Country Championships he finished twelfth in the junior race, gaining the team bronze medal with France alongside Noureddine Smaïl. He made significant progress in the junior ranks the following year: first, he managed 38th place at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and then he won the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2007 European Athletics Junior Championships. In the winter season, he went on to win the junior race at the 2007 European Cross Country Championships, leading the French juniors to victory along with runner-up Florian Carvalho.[4]

In 2008, he stepped up an age category and competed in the under-23 competition of the 2008 European Cross Country Championships, where he finished in eighth and shared in the team bronze medal with France.[4] He ran on the world senior stage for the first time the following year, taking 63rd at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and being selected for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. However, he did not make it into the final of the world men's 5000 metres at the latter competition.[5] That season he set a European under-23 record in the 3000 metres, running at time of 7:37.50 at the Meeting Areva in July.[6] He won his first senior medal at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships as he finished in fifth place behind compatriot Abdellatif Meftah to take the men's senior team title.[7]

Controversy

He made his debut appearance at the Olympics representing France at the 2020 Summer Olympics and competed in the men's marathon event, where he finished 17th. At the 28 km mark of the race, Amdouni was filmed knocking over a table's worth of water bottles before grasping the last bottle, denying bottles to competitors behind him, leading to criticisms of bad sportsmanship from observers. He later claimed that the bottles were wet and slippery, making them difficult to grasp.[8][9][10]

Achievements

Personal bests

Road

National titles

References

  1. ^ "Morhad AMDOUNI - Athlete Profile". IAAF.
  2. ^ "Le Franco-Tunisien Morhad Amdouni sur le toit de l'Europe du 10 000 m". lecourrierdelatlas. August 7, 2018.
  3. ^ 2006 World Junior Championships - 1500 Metres - M Heats. IAAF (2006-08-15). Retrieved on 2010-12-12.
  4. ^ a b MORHAD AMDOUNI. FFA. Retrieved on 2010-12-12.
  5. ^ Amdouni, Morhad. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-12-12.
  6. ^ European Records U23 Men. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-12-12.
  7. ^ SENIOR WOMEN'S FINAL: Portugal’s Augusto dominates to take gold Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics (2010-12-12). Retrieved on 2010-12-12.
  8. ^ "Tokyo Olympics 2020: French marathon runner Morhad Amdouni appears to sabotage rivals by denying them water". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  9. ^ Sport, Telegraph (2021-08-08). "French marathon runner sparks sportsmanship row by knocking over water bottles - then running off with last one". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  10. ^ "Tokyo 2020 - Morhad Amdouni defends himself after water bottle knocking over controversy in men's marathon". 9 August 2021. However, the video clearly shows several runners in front of him grab water bottles without issue and Amdouni’s hand is seen wide open and not grasping for a bottle at all, but instead sweeping the bottles off the table while runners behind him are unable to obtain water due to his sabotage. To date, French organizations have not commented or sanctioned Amdouni for his poor sportsmanship and embarrassing behavior on the world stage.