Retirement – Mahiedine Mekhissi hangs up and closes one of the finest records of French athletics

Silver in Beijing and London, bronze in Rio: Mahiedine Mekhissi was the man of the big events in the 3000m steeplechase. Always there when the fever was rising, the Rémois has been the heyday of French athletics for more than 15 years. This Tuesday, at 37, he chose to hang up his points. “I stop because the desire is no longer there, he confided to our colleagues from L’Equipe. I no longer enjoy going to training. I felt it was time to say stop. Simply. If I ran, it was to be world champion, Olympic champion, win medals, break records. To achieve these goals, if you don’t feel like it, there’s no point in continuing. She was no longer there and I wanted to move on, to do something else with my life.

European record holder in the 3000m steeplechase

Since August 2018 and his European coronation in Berlin, the European record holder in the 3000m steeplechase (8’00”09) had a hard time recovering from his various physical glitches. Operated on the Achilles tendon in June 2019, he first missed the Doha Worlds before chaining the white seasons. In June 2020, a new operation on the other Achilles tendon hinders his chances of participating in the Tokyo Olympics. He will not be at the Japanese meeting. Injuries and wear and tear finally got the better of his last dream: the Olympic Games in Paris.

He will remain an extraordinary record, one of the strongest on the French track in the 21st century: three Olympic medals, two world podiums and five European titles. “I think I’m one of the greatesthe told the team. It is not lacking in humility to say I am at the same table as Michel Jazy or Alain Mimoun. I left my mark.

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