Ayad Lamdassem El Mouhcine (born 11 October 1981) is a

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. Born in Morocco, he competes for Spain internationally. He has represented Spain twice in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

(2008, 2012 and 2020) as well as the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

(2010, 2012). Lamdassem has competed at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

on five occasions (once for Morocco and four times for Spain). He was the silver medallist at the

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...

in 2010 and 2011. He was also a gold medallist at the

2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''XIV Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Municipal Bahía Sur in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain from 4–6 June. A total o ...

. At the 2020

Valencia Marathon The Valencia Marathon (; also known as Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon road running event hosted by Valencia, Spain, since 1981. It is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athle ...

, he set the Spanish national record and earned a spot on the Spanish team for the

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Olympic marathon, where he finished 5th. His personal bests include 13:17.49 minutes for the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

, 27:45.58 min for the 10,000 m, 61:29 for the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

and 2:06:25 for the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

Career

He first arrived in Spain in 2002 as part of the Moroccan contingent for the

World University Cross Country Championships The World University Cross Country Championships is an international biennial cross country running competition for student athletes, organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The 2012 edition of the competition featured 7 ...

, which was being held in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

that year. However, he did not compete and instead deserted the team, using the opportunity to stay on in the country and train with other Moroccans in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. He later moved to

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

, working with coach Antonio Cánovas, and received citizenship in 2007 after five years of residency. His first major competition for Spain came the following year in the form of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. He ran in the 10,000 m race and finished in 24th place, just behind compatriot

Carles Castillejo Carles Castillejo Salvador (born August 18, 1978 in Barcelona) is a Spanish long distance runner. He has won Spanish national titles in the 5000 m, the 10,000 m and the marathon. He has represented Spain at the Olympics on four occasion ...

. He came fourth at the

2008 European Cross Country Championships The 15th European Cross Country Championships were held at Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and langu ...

at the end of the year, helping the Spanish men to the team title. He represented Spain twice at cross country in 2009, coming 30th at the

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 28, 2009. The races were held at the Al Bisharat Golf Course in Amman, Jordan. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races ...

and fifth at the

2009 European Cross Country Championships The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 near Dublin city, Fingal in Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first time ...

, where Spain retained the team title. He also competed in the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

, running in the

, but dropped out mid-race. He won his first track medal at the 2010 Ibero-American Championships, taking the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the

. At the

Great Manchester Run The Great Manchester Run is an annual run through Greater Manchester (namely Manchester, Trafford and Salford). It has consisted of a 10k run since it was established in 2003, and a half marathon since 2017. The 10k race is the largest of its t ...

he duelled against

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie (; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian former Long-distance running, long-distance track running, track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Athletics Championships, World Cha ...

and ended up as runner-up some seven seconds behind the Ethiopian. Lamdassem was selected to run the 10,000 m at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, C ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. After leading early on, he eventually slowed on the final lap and missed the medals with a fourth-place finish. He started his 2010/11 cross country season with a third place at the Soria Cross Country in November. At the

2010 European Cross Country Championships The 2010 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that took place on 12 December in Albufeira, Portugal. It was the second time that the country hosted the event, building upon the 1997 edition he ...

he was the first runner to break from the front, although he was caught by

Serhiy Lebid Serhiy Lebid or Serhii Lebid (; born 15 July 1975 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian long-distance runner. Career He has won the European Cross Country championships on nine occasions, winning in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2 ...

and finished as the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

list. Lamdassem also led the Spanish men to the bronze in the team competition. He competed at the

San Silvestre Vallecana The San Silvestre Vallecana is an annual 10 km road race held on 31 December in Madrid, Spain since 1964. It has two editions: a fun run for amateur athletes and an elite race for professional athletes. In 2012, the race achieved its hist ...

on New Year's Eve and was leading ahead of favourite

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase ( Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean former long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal i ...

in the latter stages, but he took a wrong turn on the course, losing his leading margin and eventually finished as runner-up. A third-place finish at the 2011

Great Edinburgh Cross Country The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country was an annual cross country running competition that took place every January in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and was held alongs ...

helped the European team to the title. He took the top honours at the

Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ...

in February – a performance which lifted his club Bikila Toledo to third for that year's European Cross Country Club Championships, which was held in conjunction with the race. He carried the hopes of the host nation at the

2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20, 2011. The races were held at the Polideportivo Antonio Gil Hernández in Punta Umbría, Spain. Reports of the event were given for the IAAF. Preparation The Uni ...

Punta Umbría Punta Umbría is a town and municipality in the province of Huelva, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is a fishing village located on the banks of the Rio Odiel river and across the water from the capital, Huelva. It is su ...

and was the first European to finish, taking 16th place. He won the 2011

Cursa Bombers The Cursa de Bombers () is an annual road running race over 10 km which takes place in April in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. History and course The race was created in 1999 as a joint venture between the ''Bombers de Barcelona'' (Firemen of B ...

, although it was a Catalan-only race and his winning time was relatively slow. He missed the track season due to injury and returned in November, coming seventh at the

Cross de Atapuerca The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca (town), Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cro ...

then second at the Soria race. At the

2011 European Cross Country Championships The 2011 European Cross Country Championships was the 18th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Velenje, Slovenia on 11 December. Atelaw Yeshetela of Belgium won the men's title to become the ...

he was again the runner-up, this time to Atelaw Yeshetela. He was the top European at the Cross de Venta de Baños later that month, coming second to Kenya's Philemon Kimeli. A third place at the

closed his 2011 season. Lamdassem returned to the Edinburgh Cross Country in 2012 and won the long race, beating European champion Yeshetela. He won the European Club's Cross Country meet in Castellón, leading Bikila Toledo to the title. He debuted over the

distance at the

Lake Biwa Marathon The was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-08 ...

but finished 23rd with a relatively slow time of 2:14:39 hours. Returning to shorter distances, he came second to

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha (; ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000 metres, 5,000-metre and 10000 metres, 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the go ...

at the

Great Ireland Run The Great Ireland Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition which is held in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in mid-April. It is part of the Great Run series of athletics competitions. It is sponsored by SPAR and features both an el ...

and won the

in April. In June he was a silver medallist at the

European Cup 10000m The European 10,000m Cup is an annual 10,000 metres race for European athletes which was first held in 1997. The competition is organised by the European Athletics Association and first began as the European 10000 Metres Challenge (''European 1 ...

and placed sixth in the event at the

2012 European Athletics Championships The 2012 European Athletics Championships were held in Helsinki, Finland between 27 June and 1 July 2012. This edition marks the beginning of a new two-year cycle of the European Athletics Championships which were previously held every four years. ...

. He was selected to run the event for Spain at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but did not perform as well, coming in 23rd place in 28:49.85 minutes. In his first

in eight years, he came seventh at the Great Scottish Run. A better outing came at the

Great South Run The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 199 ...

10-miler, where he was runner-up, and near the end of the year he came sixth at the

2012 European Cross Country Championships The 2012 European Cross Country Championships was the 19th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Szentendre, Hungary on 9 December. Andrea Lalli of Italy won the men's title to become the country ...

. At the start of the 2013 cross country season he made the top two at the Great Edinburgh race and the European Clubs competition.Dibaba dashes Defar's hopes with speedy finish in Edinburgh
IAAF (5 January 2013). Retrieved on 2013-02-11.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamdassem, Ayad 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Guelmim-Oued Noun Spanish male long-distance runners Moroccan male long-distance runners Spanish male marathon runners Moroccan male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Spain Moroccan emigrants to Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Naturalised athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Spain Spanish sportspeople of Moroccan descent Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Spanish sportsmen 21st-century Moroccan sportsmen