French athlete Morhad Amdouni broke his own French record on Sunday by taking 2nd place in the Seville marathon in Spain in 2 hours 3 min and 47 seconds. At 35, the Frenchman is taking a serious option for Olympic selection.
French athlete Morhad Amdouni broke his own French record on Sunday by taking 2nd place in the Seville marathon in Spain in 2 hours 3 min and 47 seconds (unofficial time). The 35-year-old Frenchman exploded his old mark (2:05:22 in 2022) and came very close to the European record (2:03:36), thus taking a serious option for the Olympic selection.
The athlete breaks his own record
Fourth Frenchman in the Valencia marathon in December and therefore not a priority for the Olympic selection, Morhad Amdouni knew he had to put in a big time on Sunday if he wanted to continue dreaming of the Games in Paris.
Contract more than fulfilled under the Spanish sun: the 35-year-old athlete exploded his own French record (2:05:22 in 2022) to finish 2nd behind the Ethiopian Deresa Gelata and come very close to the record of Europe of the discipline (2:03:36).
A few minutes later, Méline Rollin doubled the lead for the French clan by finishing 7th in the women’s race won by the Ethiopian Azmera Gebru. She was initially announced 8th at the finish. With a record time of 2 h 24 min 12 sec, she erases Christelle Daunay who had held the French record in the discipline since 2010 in 2 h 24 min 22. At 25 years old, Méline Rollin is also taking a serious option for the Olympic selection, since French athletes have until April 30 to achieve the minimums.
A selection for the Olympics?
Less than six months before the Olympic Games, the French marathon density is impressive: ten athletes (five men and five women) have already achieved the minimums. Only three will be selected for the Games in each category.
With their good times achieved earlier in the winter, Mehdi Frère and Nicolas Navarro for the men and Mekdes Woldu and Mélody Julien for the women have priority, according to the selection procedures of the French Athletics Federation. Given their performances on Sunday, Morhad Amdouni and Méline Rollin are well on their way to completing the list, unless others run even faster by the end of April.