Saïd Aouita (; born November 2, 1959) is a former Moroccan

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. He is the only athlete in history to have won a medal in each of the 800 meters and 5000 meters at the Olympic games. He won the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, as well as the 3000 meters at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He is a former

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder over

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

(3:29.46), 2000 m (4:50.81), 3000 m (7:29.45), and twice at 5000 m (13:00.40 and 12:58.39).

Early life and education

Saïd Aouita was born on November 2, 1959, in

Kenitra Kenitra (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

, a coastal Moroccan city. Nine years later, he moved along with his family to Fes due to the nature of his father's work. As a child he spent most of his time playing football and wanted to be a great footballer; however, his outstanding skills in running made his coaches foresee a great future in

. Aouita has a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Management and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Business Administration. He is pursuing a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in Sport Management and Leadership.

Running career

Aouita had his first start towards stardom at the

1983 World Championships in Athletics The 1st World Championships in Athletics (; ) were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium (Helsinki), Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983 ...

held in Helsinki. He contested the 1500 m and finished third in the final, taking the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

, after the pace slowed in the last 1000 meters and then finished with a sprint. In 1984, Aouita decided to run the 5000 m at the

. Antonio Leitão from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

ran in first for the majority of the race. Aouita stayed behind Leitão and then sprinted past him on the last lap to win. In 1985, Aouita ran two world records: first in 5000 m (13:00.40) in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

on 27 July, then in 1500 m (3:29.46) on 23 August. In 1986 he missed setting the world record in the 3000 m by 0.44 of a second. In 1987, Aouita's main objective was to excel in the world championship held in Rome and break records. First, he broke the 2000 m world record with a time of 4:50.81 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and only six days later, he surprised the world by breaking his own world record for 5000 m, becoming the first man to go under 13 minutes, with a time of 12:58.39 minutes. For the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, Aouita decided just to contest the 5000 m. In the 5000 m final, John Ngugi from

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

set a fair pace, but by no means fast. Aouita, always in control of the race, made his move just before the bell, leading a mass sprint for the finish that he won in 13:26.44. In 1988, at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, he attempted to race in the 800 m and 1500 m but had a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury which made him finish third in 800 m and withdraw from the 1500 m although he had qualified for the semi-final. In spite of that his bronze medal made him the only athlete in history to combine medals at both 800 m and 5000 m. In 1989, Aouita won the 3000 m at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest. Later that year, he broke the world record for the same distance in

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

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with the time of 7:29.45 and thus, he was the first man in history to go under 7:30:00. Aouita was a versatile middle and long distance runner, excelling at distances between 800 m and 10,000 m during the eighties. He raced and won against the Olympic champions

Joaquim Cruz Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (born 12 March 1963) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner, winner of the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only ten men, and in August 1984 became the second man, to run the 800 metres in less th ...

(800 m), Peter Rono (1500 m), John Ngugi (5000 m) and Alberto Cova (10000 m) over their respective main distances. Between September 1983 and September 1990 he won 115 of his 119 races. The defeats were against world champion Steve Cram over 1500 m, Olympic bronze medalist Alessandro Lambruschini over 3000 m steeplechase, Olympic champions

and Paul Ereng over 800 m and world champion Yobes Ondieki over 5000 m. In the early nineties, Aouita underwent surgery on his leg, after which his doctors advised him to put an end to his career as an athlete for his health. After a set of failures in a number of races he decided to retire from athletics.

Personal life

Said Aouita married Khadija Skhir in 1983, one year before the 1984 Olympic Games. Together they have four children: one son, Adil, and three daughters; Soukaina, Sarah, and Zeena. After his athletics career ended, Aouita worked with mixed success as a consultant for numerous sport institutions, as Technical National Manager in Morocco, and National Distance Coach in Australia thanks not only to his fruitful field experience, but also to his academic competences. Now, Aouita is working as Senior Analyst for Al Jazeera Sports channel. Aouita also has a sports clothing company which was established in 2009. Aouita is featured on an Azerbaijani postage stamp. He lives in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

International competitions

World records

– 3:29.46,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, 23 August 1985 * 2000 metres – 4:50.81,

, 16 July 1987 *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

– 7:29.45,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, 20 August 1989 * Two miles –– 8:13.45,

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, 28 May 1987 *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

– 13:00.40,

, 22 July 1985 *5000 metres – 12:58.39,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 27 July 1987

Awards and distinctions

* *Three times IAAF Grand Prix Final winner (800 m, 1500 m, and 5000 m)IAAF GRAND PRIX FINAL
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-12-20.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aouita, Said 1959 births Living people Moroccan male middle-distance runners Moroccan male long-distance runners Moroccan male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Morocco Olympic bronze medalists for Morocco World record setters in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Kenitra World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Morocco Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics FISU World University Games gold medalists for Morocco World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade 20th-century Moroccan sportsmen