 Gharib at the 2005London Marathon | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sathletics | ||
Representing Morocco | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 2008 Beijing | Marathon |
| World Championships | ||
 | 2003 Paris | Marathon |
| 2005 Helsinki | Marathon |
| Mediterranean Games | ||
| 2001 Radès | 10,000 m |
| Half Marathon World Championships | ||
| 2002 Brussels | Half marathon |
Jaouad Gharib (Arabic:جواد غريب, born 22 May 1972 inKhenifra) is aMoroccanlong-distance runner who competes in themarathon. Winner of the2003 World Championships and2005 World Championships over the distance, he is also notable because he only began running seriously at the age of twenty-two. His 2005 retention made him the second successive world championship marathon champion, afterAbel Antón. He was the silver medallist in the marathon at the2008 Summer Olympics.
Jaouad Gharib was born inKhenifra,Middle Atlas toBerber parents but he became anorphan. His favourite sport as a child wasfootball and it was not until 1992, when he watched theMarrakech Marathon live on television, that he began to take an interest inathletics. His talent forlong-distance running quickly became apparent as he won races for theMoroccan Royal Guard as well as other national level competitions.[1] Gharib made his first international competitions in 2001, taking ninth at the2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and eleventh in the10,000 metres at the2001 World Championships in Athletics. He won thegold medal on the track at the2001 Mediterranean Games.[2] Former athletesAziz Daouda andBrahim Boutayeb convinced Gharib to focus on longer road events, sensing his potential for further distances.[1]
He ran at the2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships the following year and a tenth-place finish in the long race gained him a teambronze medal with the Moroccan men, which was led byAbderrahim Goumri.[3] He scored asilver medal at the2002 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships as he set a personal best of 1:00:42 to finish seconds behind the winnerPaul Malakwen Kosgei.[4] An appearance over 10,000 m2002 African Championships in Athletics resulted in an eighth-place finish.[2]
He made his global indoor debut in the3000 metres at the2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships, taking twelfth in the final.[2] Another appearance at theWorld Cross Country Championships brought him another team bronze, although he managed only 23rd place on that occasion.[5] His appearance at that competition was made at the behest of the Moroccan team director and he took part merely as preparation for his impending debut over themarathon distance. Following the coaching of former Olympic champion Brahim Boutayeb, he took part in theRotterdam Marathon a month later, running a time of 2:09:15 for sixth.[6] Following ahalf marathon win inJohannesburg, he entered the marathon race at the2003 World Championships in Athletics. Despite it being only his second outing over the distance, he saw offMichael Kosgei Rotich andJulio Rey to forge a lead in the final stages and win thegold medal in aChampionship record time of 2:08:31.[7][8]
He continued to focus onroad running in 2004, beginning with a run of 59:56 minutes at theLisbon Half Marathon for fourth place on the downhill course.[9] Next came theLondon Marathon, where he finished third behindEvans Rutto andSammy Korir and set a personal best of 2:07:02 despite slipping and banging his head mid-race.[10] He competed at his first Olympics at the2004 Athens Games but failed to match his previous global form and finished in eleventh place in the men's marathon.[11] A groin injury in the run-up to the competition and Gharib reflected that he had pushed himself too much in training during the two weeks before the race.[12]
He repeated his approach to the season in 2005 by starting at the Lisbon Half Marathon and he finished sixth on this occasion.[13] He ran sub-2:08 at the London Marathon for a second time and improved one place from the previous year, finishing as runner-up behindMartin Lel.[14] His focus of the year was a defence of his title at the2005 World Championships in Athletics. He returned home to Morocco and trained at altitude in theAtlas Mountains region. The move proved fruitful as, in spite of a sleepless night and stomach pains during the competition, he won the world championship marathon with an eleven-second margin over runner-upChristopher Isengwe.[12] This made him only the second runner ever to retain the world marathon title, after SpaniardAbel Antón.[15]
With no major competition to work towards in 2006, he focused on competing on the circuit. He finished the London Marathon in a time of 2:08:45 – the third fastest run of his career at that point – but this was only enough for eighth in a fast race which saw him beaten by compatriotHicham Chatt.[16] After a fourth-place finish at theGreat North Run, his next marathon race came at theFukuoka Marathon in Japan. Gharib came close to a career best, crossing the line in 2:07:19, and took third place on the podium behindHaile Gebrselassie andDmytro Baranovskyy.[17]
He had his third sub-2:08 clocking at the London Marathon in 2007, recording 2:07:54 for fourth place. At theChicago Marathon later that year he came close to victory but aphoto finish between Gharib andPatrick Ivuti resulted in the Moroccan being declared the runner-up.[18] Gharib won thesilver medal in the2008 Summer Olympics marathon held in Beijing, China, giving him his first Olympic medal. Gharib improved his personal best to 2:05:27 at the 2009London Marathon, finishing in third place.[19] He also finished in third place at the 2009NYC Marathon.[20]
Running in the2010 London Marathon, he had to endure stomach problems but still made the podium, coming home in another third-place finish with a time of 2:06:55.[21] He took third place at the Great North Run half marathon in September.[22] He was victorious at the Fukuoka Marathon in December, completing a solo run on the hot course to win in a time of 2:08:24.[23] The2011 London Marathon was a particularly fast race and his time of 2:08:26 left him in sixth and almost four minutes behind winnerEmmanuel Mutai.[24]
Updated 26 April 2009
| Event | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 metres | 13:19.69 | 13 July 2001 | Oslo |
| 10,000 metres | 27:29.51 | 18 June 2001 | Prague |
| Half Marathon | 59:59 | 22 March 2009 | Lisbon |
| Marathon | 2:05:27 | 26 April 2009 | London |
All Information taken from IAAF profile.[2]
|
