Morhad Amdouni

The Island of Beauty at the root of his feats 🏝️

Before breaking records on the asphalt, the young Porto-Vecchiais took his first steps in sport on football pitches ⚽️. The spark for running came in middle school, quickly followed by early days in cross-country under the colors of AJ Bastia 👟. He’s got serious engine, and it shows fast: in 2007, he captured the junior European title in the 5,000 meters in Hengelo, less than 3 years after his debut 🏆. 

But it was in 2018 in Berlin that he stepped into another dimension 🇩🇪. At the European Championships, he managed his race with impressive calm, unleashed a sharp move in the final lap of the 10,000 meters, and took European gold 🥇. Not satisfied, he did it again four days later in the 5,000 meters to claim bronze 🥉. The machine is rolling 🚀.

The marathon to stake his claim 🌍

Switching from the track to 42.195 km takes some adaptation time, but Morhad isn’t the type to hesitate ⏱️. Right from his debut on the royal distance at the Paris Marathon in 2019, he clocked 2 hours 9 minutes 14 seconds and posted the best French time of the day 🏃. Two years later, he confirmed that trajectory at the Tokyo Olympic Games with a 17th place secured in the heavy humidity of Sapporo 🇯🇵.

The next chapter is written in Seville, a fast course you’d think was designed especially for him. In February 2022, he erased the French record held by Benoit Zwierzchiewski for nearly twenty years, winning the Seville Marathon in 2 hours 05 minutes and 22 seconds 💥. Unsatisfied, he returned to Andalusia in February 2024 and improved his own mark: 2 hours 3 minutes and 67 seconds 🔥. An XXL time that places him among the 5 fastest marathoners on the planet 👑.

Paris in sight and heading for new peaks 🏆

Selected for the Olympic marathon 🏃‍♂️, he nevertheless had to withdraw just a few hours before the start. A right calf injury, sustained during his final training session, confirmed an inter-aponeurotic detachment and brought his Parisian adventure to an end before he even reached the start line 🏁.

But the story doesn’t end there. Amdouni continues to line up over long distances and finds his way back to victory in 2026. At the French marathon championships, he wins in 2 hours 13 minutes and 22 seconds at the Marathon des Deux Rives. The French record holder thus continues his career with the same benchmark time in mind: 2 hours 3 minutes and 47 seconds, still set in Seville. 🦾

Today, whether he lines up for an ultra-fast 10K to keep some pop or takes on the half marathon, he still runs with the same desire 🎯. He paved the way and showed an entire generation of French runners that time barriers were only made to be broken. A major figure in French running, driven by a visceral need to push himself further ⬆️.

If his journey proves one thing, it’s that the start line belongs to everyone.