Khalid Skah

Khalid Skah established himself first as a top cross-country runner by winning the International Cross-Country Championships in 1990 and 1991. His first major event on the track was the 1991 World Championships where he bronze in the 10,000 and then finished sixth in the 5K. At the 1992 Olympics Skah had a long duel with Richard Chelimo from Kenya in the 10K. When they were lapping another Moroccan, Hammou Boutayeb, the latter interfered with Chelimo and Skah went to win a second ahead of Kenyan. After the race Skah was accused of receiving undue assistance from Boutayeb and was disqualified, but was later reinstated. Skah finished fifth in the 5,000 at the 1993 World Championships. He won the 1994 World Half-Marathon Championship and finished second in the 10K at the 1995 World Championships. Skah's last major international tournament was the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he finished seventh at 10K.

In 1997 Skah applied for Norwegian citizenship, where he had lived and trained for years. After that, the Moroccan Athletics Association banned him from international competitions. Skah was reinstated in 2001 after which he attempted a comeback but with minimal success. Skah married Norwegian interior designer Anne Cecilie Hopstock after his Barcelona triumph and they had two children. The marriage ended in divorce after the family relocated to Morocco in 2006, with Skah losing a custody battle in Norwegian courts two years later. He failed to return the children, causing him to be indicted on kidnapping, threats and domestic disturbance charges. In July 2009 the children fled Morocco and Skah issued a reward to any person helping him recover the children. Hopstock later confirmed she had hired off-duty naval rangers to help her sail her children out of Moroccan waters

Personal Best: 10000 – 27:14.53 (1995).