Many!!
My main takeaway from meeting anyone famous is how "normal" they really are.
I'm old! 😂 (63.) In the 80s/90s I travelled a lot, because a Schmuk 31min 10k guy in the Airforce got to do World Military stuff, which saw many stars, past/present, running or watching.
I met/chatted with Filbert Bayi. Has there ever been a greater 1500m performance than a gun to tape WR? He was very quick to express his frustrations over 1976. He was human!!
Vincent Rousseau always seemed very friendly to me. He offered me a seat at his dinner table and beer. Dude was the best Marathoner in the world in 1995.
Juma Ikangaa!! What a guy! Shy. 4ft11in maybe, but a dinner plate piled higher than anyones. He just laughed and put his hands ovef his face when we pointed this out.
In Tunis, Mr Gammoudi was a star guest! I sat next to him on a bus. A friend who knew French helped us out. I got the great man to sign a photo in a Coe book on Olympic History. As he entered the bus I got everyone to chant "Gammoudi....Gammoudi..." He loved that! He smoked cigars!
I met "the notorious" Hammou Boutayeb. In person, at a table, he was so gracoius and kind. He knew of his reputation! He thought it was all "tactics". 😂 He was such a great runner at 40.
Tony Martins was the French 10000m record holder. What a charmer!
I worked with Cam Levins in High School!! We drove to some meets. He was so quiet / reserved, and then late one night, on a drive home, he wouldn't shut up!! 😂 I guess he finally figured he could open up to me.
I'm missing so many others. Maybe I'll post later.