Retirement – “I don’t understand why people don’t see me as a champion”: Mahiedine Mekhissi, the perpetual misunderstanding

Right from the start, success comes with an awkward shadow. 2008, Beijing Olympics: a young Frenchman breaks into the great history of French sport. While the blue track saw painful Olympics in China, Mahiedine Mekhissi offered him his first medal (silver), a year after being eliminated in series from the Worlds. His sudden outbreak is accompanied by barely veiled suspicions of doping, especially since his trainer at the time had a sulphurous reputation. The Team then speaks of a performance “which raised more questions than it sparked excitement“.”When I read the newspapers, it ruined my pleasure“, he explained to World, in 2012.

Suspicions of doping and green carpet

“My doping is my faith in myself, in my strength. I started directly with problems, I did not understand why so many things were said about me… it made me the man I am today“, he explained later. From Beijing to Rio, the same embarrassment accompanies his podium. This time, there is no question of suspicion but when he becomes the first athlete, all nationalities combined, to align three consecutive podiums at the Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase, his bronze medal was won on green carpet as Kemboi walked on the rope.Short in the final, the Rémois finished three seconds behind the unfortunate Kemboi.

Yohan Kowal, the other Frenchman involved in the race, reacts: “If he just put his foot in the rope, he didn’t bite fifteen meters, but that’s the rule. If Kemboi ends well ahead and he only bites one foot… But hey, I’m going to defend France. If he can recover a medal, it is good for him.” This same Kemboi who, three years earlier, had been carried in triumph by “his friend” Mekhissi in London when the two men had completed the Olympic final in gold and silver. This is a very nice summary of Mekhissi’s career which continues to mark history, but without fanfare, a career that will prevent him from having the recognition that his talent and his prize list deserve.

Zürich 2014: Disqualification and champion reaction

Finally, it was only at the European Championships in Zürich, in 2014, that he won hearts. And if only one episode of his immense career had to be remembered, it would undoubtedly be this one. He starts his Swiss adventure with a curious disqualification. Largely in the lead in the 3000m steeplechase, he decided to take off his jersey to celebrate his victory in the final meters. Disqualification. “Sorry, I just thought I was celebrating my victory like a football player, there was no arrogance towards my opponents and the public“, he justifies himself.

Capable also, and above all, of winning the respect of Kenyans for more than ten years on the 3000m steeplechase. A volcanic champion, a champion with two facets but an immense champion all the same. “I left my markhe concludes with our colleagues. We will realize that what I did was exceptional, it is not easy to win a medal. And to last.”