Gressier 3:36.01 Ostrava, pb

Definitely doesn't make it as obvious as the other two. Who seem to live and breathe the junk. It's about who I respect more or less as a result.

underwhelmed wrote:

Definitely doesn't make it as obvious as the other two. Who seem to live and breathe the junk. It's about who I respect more or less as a result.

You forgot to add that Jimmy Gressier is addicted to Macca’s and KFC which goes well hand-in-hand with rap and hip-hop. If you go to those places you’ll always see a bunch of homies in there.

underwhelmed wrote:

Definitely doesn't make it as obvious as the other two. Who seem to live and breathe the junk. It's about who I respect more or less as a result.

Lol. So basically your only actual point is that you don't like rap music, as that's a dealbreaker in one's character for you?

Correct. Just like as if someone is a kid toucher I would not give them the time if day. Like Biden.

Ghost1 wrote:

They are not involved in "olympiatoppen",

Can you explain the Norwegian system of olympiatoppen? I assume those are training camps for the top Norwegian athletes to prepare for the Olympics with all the help they receive from a team of trainers, physiotherapists, sport psychologists, biomechanics experts, and the whole 9 yards.

You understood it quite well...

Olympiatoppen is, easily explained, a place in Oslo where top athletes from different sports (summer and winter) gather. Their coaches and physicians and professors share their knowledge and experience so all can benefit.

It is like a camp. They have every facilities needed, for example treadmills for cross country skiers so they can adjust their technique to perfection. Normally the athletes don't stay there for a long time. It is more like an addition to the other camps they have, and of course they also stay at their home and train with their club more or less.

Thank you for your explanation about those training camps. On another note, is Marius Bakken , former Norwegian record holder in the 5000 with 1306, still involved in some way with athletes and training? He had a short career to concentrate on his medical degree and I assume that now he is a doctor?

Ghost1 wrote:

Thank you for your explanation about those training camps. On another note, is Marius Bakken , former Norwegian record holder in the 5000 with 1306, still involved in some way with athletes and training? He had a short career to concentrate on his medical degree and I assume that now he is a doctor?

Yes, he is a doctor now. He don't have a role with the federation. Marius Bakken was also a runner who thread his own path, much like Ingebrigtsen. He experimented a lot, for example extreme altitude training. In order to compensate for the lack of iron, the group (he and Susanne Wigene, silver medallist in 10000m in euro champs), was given too high dosages of iron, and got got themselves really fatigued over a long period. I think that was the real reason he gave up his career, he never really recovered from that.

I also don't know if he is coaching any good runners. Never heard about that. But he has an online training program. But I think it is more orientaded towards recreational runners.

What happened to the moroccan runners Smail Sghir and Hassane El Lahssini? They ran for Morocco well into their senior years, and suddenly they run for France. Did they marry to France, or other family matters?

I know Mourhit married in Belgium, and soon later set european records at 3000 and 5000m.

Loppas wrote:

What happened to the moroccan runners Smail Sghir and Hassane El Lahssini? They ran for Morocco well into their senior years, and suddenly they run for France. Did they marry to France, or other family matters?

I know Mourhit married in Belgium, and soon later set european records at 3000 and 5000m.

What happens is that when very good runners from Maghreb arrive in France if they have the potential to contribute to the French team then they are fast tracked towards the French passport whether or not they married a French woman is irrelevant really. Everything is done to allow them to gain access to the French nationality as fast as possible as well as the case for these two athletes.

Sghyr was a tiny athlete only about 5 feet in height or 160 cm With very quick stride turnover which helped him to run under 13 for 5000 m. To be honest with that kind of physique I expected him long-term to have more success in the marathon.

Most of the Maghreb runners in France are very motivated to stay in France because of the economic situation being much better than in their own home countries whether Tunisia, Algeria, or Morocco. Once their career is over they are happy to stay in France because of the very generous social security network available to French nationals which includes a national health card offering the best healthcare to citizens and permanent residents and also government support in case of a family not having the means to have a job. For example if they were unemployed with one or two kids they would get between €1200-€1500 per month and also have a housing allowance which would reduce their rent cost. In addition there would be all other kinds of advantages so that they would have enough money to live a decent life.

Ghost1 wrote:

Sghyr was a tiny athlete only about 5 feet in height or 160 cm With very quick stride turnover which helped him to run under 13 for 5000 m.

I remember Sghyr. Someone told me that "sghyr" actually means "small" in Arabic...

That was the golden times of Moroccan long distance running. (or dark times, if you like) . 2*Boulami, Hissou, Skah, El Basir, Boutayeb, Amine Lahloo and so on...

What happened? Now there are only one every now and then. Has it something to do with the coach Abdelkader?

I am not really comfortable with that way, if the French federation give x-maghrib runners quick passports so they can compete for them. Like they also do in Turkey and some Middle East states.

Look at the European championships in cross country 2018. How many of the top 8 were really europeans? I just feel it's not right.

About Khalid Skah, it is really a sad story. As a young runner, he came to Norway, running locally for a club in Oslo. As time went by, he became a world class runner, and he also met a Norwegian girl. They married, and after his career they got two kids and settled down in Oslo.

After a holiday in Morocco, Khalid held the kids back in Morocco against the mother's will, so she needed to go back to Norway alone. There she went to court to get the custody for the kids. In the Norwegian court, she got it, but the Moroccan court gave Khalid the custody.

After some time the two kids, aged 12 and 15 at that time, managed to escape from the father's house, and ran away to the Norwegian Embassy in Rabat. After that they were taken to the ambassador's residence.

The mother then arranged with some special soldiers to pick up the kids from the residence and smuggle the kids out from the north Morocco's port of Marina Smir, with a sailing boat to Spain.

Then they came back to Norway, but of course the story doesn't end yet! Khalid accused the Norwegian Embassy for kidnapping his kids, and Morocco accused Norwegian officials of breaking the Vienna convention on diplomatic activity.

The mother and kids were given new identities and secret address. Now they are adults and doing just fine. Maybe Khalid sits back in Morocco as a grumpy old man...

The story is absolutely mind-boggling and really reflects badly on KS.

Kudos for Mrs.Skah, even though I am doubtful that she goes by that name these days, for being able to “rescue” her two kids and bring them up in Norway, which political correctness aside, would be a much better place to bring up humans compared with Morocco.

Source: Wiki

Skah married Norwegian interior designer Anne Cecilie Hopstock after his Barcelona triumph, and they have two children. The marriage ended in divorce after the family relocated to Morocco in 2006.

Skah lost a custody battle with his former wife in Norwegian courts, two years later, yet failed to return the children. He was indicted on kidnapping, threats, and domestic disturbance charges in Norway.[3] By 2009, Norwegian authorities had not managed to serve Skah with the verdict. Under Norwegian law both parties must be served with the verdict, before it can be enforced, or appealed.[4]

The two children of Skah and Hopstock fled Morocco in July 2009. The Norwegian embassy's alleged improper sheltering of the dual-citizenship children during their escape led to a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.[5][failed verification][6] Skah issued a reward and filed for custody in Morocco. The former track champion maintained his innocence, claiming the children were abducted[7] and that armed Norwegian commandos intruded into his home.[8] Hopstock later confirmed she had hired off-duty naval rangers to help her sail her children out of Moroccan waters.[9] In 2013 media said that "Bolle and one of the other men still were working in the Norwegian Armed Forces at the time [of the abduction], but no disciplinary action was leveled at them".[10]

On 19 June 2013, Skah was arrested at Orly Airport in Paris [11] On 21 June he was released and ordered not to leave Paris until further notice. In April 2014 a French court refused a Norwegian extradition request on the grounds that the diplomatic dispute between Morocco and Norway would mean he would not get a fair trial there.[12]

In a bizarre twist to the whole saga it is interesting that Skah’s sister married elite former Finnish marathon champion, Janne Holmen, and now lives with the Holmen family in Finland.

Khalid with his two children or 2X children as the case may now be. In happier times.

https://images.app.goo.gl/RLAVi9ABsEYqBqXS7

Most former runners become quite rotund once their majestic careers end. Khalid Skah no exception to this sad situation of increased body weight. One of the problems is that former elite runners continue to eat the same way with a much diminished energy requirement and calories leading to consistent weight gain over time.

https://images.app.goo.gl/XZTZ3VcJxAhKk4Wr5

Khalid Skah, bests.

1500 Metres 3:38.10 Stockholm (SWE) 02 JUL 1992

3000 Metres 7:36.76 Köln (GER) 21 AUG 1994

Two Miles 8:12.17 Hechtel (BEL) 31 JUL 1993

5000 Metres 13:00.54 Villeneuve d'Ascq (FRA) 08 JUL 1994

10,000 Metres 27:14.53 Ullevi Stadium, Göteborg (SWE) 08 AUG 1995

3000 Metres Steeplechase 8:19.30 Evry-Bondoufle (FRA) 12 JUL 1994

8 Kilometres 22:28 Balmoral (GBR) 24 APR 1999

10 Kilometres 27:57 Houilles (FRA) 28 DEC 1997

15 Kilometres 43:35 Nijmegen (NED) 21 NOV 1993

10 Miles Road 46:17 Portsmouth (GBR) 14 OCT 2001

Half Marathon 1:00:24 Zürich (SUI) 27 SEP 1998

Marathon 2:16:34 Stade de France, Paris-St-(2003)