'I see this as redemption' - Zouhair Talbi makes up for lost time at Paris 2024

Moroccan runner dreams of the marathon podium, three years after being denied chance to compete in Tokyo

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Three years ago, Moroccan runner Zouhair Talbi was in Tokyo ready to compete in the 10,000m race at the Olympics.

In May 2021, he pulled off a surprise, clocking 27:20.61 in the 10,000m at a track meet in Irvine, California to meet the Olympic standard qualifying time for the Tokyo Games.

Talbi had been living in the United States, where he studied at and competed for Oklahoma City University. When he ran the Olympic standard time in the 10k, he was contacted by the Moroccan Athletics Federation to join their Tokyo-bound Olympic team.

Talbi, who was born in Khenifra at the heart of the Atlas Mountains, learned he had to follow specific anti-doping rules set for all Moroccan athletes, which dictated he must undergo at least three no-notice out-of-competition tests in the 10 months leading up to the Olympics, with at least one month between each test.

Since he wasn’t living in Morocco, he hadn’t met the requirements and it became a race against time, trying to get the necessary tests done before the 10,000m event began in Tokyo.

Talbi was there, ready to make his Olympic debut, but the timing didn’t work out and he needed just two more days to be eligible to race.

“I was very disappointed because I felt like I earned it. I had been working so hard for two years, but unfortunately something out of my control led to me not racing that day,” the 29-year-old Talbi told The National.

Talbi grew up in Morocco near Ifrane, which is the epicentre of endurance training in the country. He got into running when he was in high school, first at a youth centre and then at an academy where he started getting more professional training.

At 17, he placed 14th in the junior men’s race at the World Cross Country Championship in Poland. “That’s when people started to see my talent,” he said.

He started to focus on the 5,000m and 10,000m races and decided to go to the United States to pursue a degree and continue to train and race competitively.

Talbi's time at university was a “life-changing experience” but upon graduation, he felt unsure about which direction he should take.

“I finished sixth in the 2022 World Indoor Championship in the 3,000m in my last year of school. So my future was like, I don’t know,” he said.

“Should I go for the 5k or the 10k? There are very few 10ks around the world. But I also had my best friend in Morocco (Mohamed Reda El Aaraby) who had very good achievements in the marathon. He finished second in the New York marathon. So I got very inspired by his achievements. I took the formula from him actually.”

Talbi switched to the marathon and on his debut, placed a remarkable fifth at the prestigious Boston Marathon in April 2023. It was a surprise, even for Talbi himself.

“That launched my career. You want to know that this is where you belong and I felt that after the race,” he said.

In January this year, he won the Houston Marathon in 2:06:39, which met the Olympic standard qualifying time for Paris.

The Moroccan is now just days away from finally fulfilling his Olympic dream and is ready to give it his all in Saturday's marathon at the Paris 2024 Games.

“I see this as a redemption. Like this is my first time running the Olympics. I was there in Tokyo but I didn’t race so this is my first time saying I’m an Olympian,” he said.

“Because last time there were people telling me, ‘you’re an Olympian’, but inside of me it didn’t feel like that because I didn’t race. I didn’t even have any answers and I got tired of explaining what happened.

“Now I’m running, and also I’m running with the highest level of testing because I was in America living in a city where USADA is based, so I was getting tested every week and everything is in order now.

“Now I can call myself an Olympian. There’s nothing that can distract your focus from racing. It feels a lot different for sure and also in a distance that I feel more confident in.

“The 10,000m is more technical and things can go wrong. You need speed and you don’t know how your race will go. I find myself loving the marathon, so we’ll see what happens.”

Talbi spent the months leading up to the Olympics training in Ifrane, drawing on encouragement from his friends and family and training with fellow Moroccans.

In the men’s marathon in Paris, Talbi will line up alongside two other Moroccans, Othmane El Goumri and Mohcin Outalha, while three Moroccan women will take part in the women’s marathon on Sunday: World Championship bronze medallist Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi, Kaoutar Farkoussi, and Rahma Tahiri.

Talbi said they are all keen to revive the nation’s glory days in the marathon.

“Just to go back in history. Jaouad Gharib was from my hometown actually. He won the World Championship twice and he finished second in the Olympics (in Beijing 2008)," he said.

“So, Morocco has been good in the marathon. They had a few years where no one was on the top but I think we’re trying to be back now. Because it’s genetic, it’s natural, the way you grow up in an environment like Morocco definitely gives you the endurance you need for long distance and the belief.

“When someone has done it that you know, because Fatima (Ezzahra Gardadi), I know her personally and I know what she’s doing; when someone did it in front of you, that definitely gives you the belief that ... you might surprise everyone as well and do it. Because I do pretty much what everyone’s doing. I train every day, twice a day, I try to eat healthy, and I think if she did it, why not? We can do it too.”

Talbi, who now lives in Colorado, where he has easy access to altitude training, has been fully dedicated to training and competing for the last two years. He has a goal-oriented approach for these Olympic Games.

“The way I break it all the time, is goal number one, goal number two, etc … the big dream of course is making the podium. That would be a life-changing position. Something I would be very proud of and everyone would be proud of it,” he said.

“The second thing is, I want to be rewarded for my hard work, so if I finish top 10 or top eight, that would still be, you’re one of the top 10 or top eight in the world, in the Olympics, that would be a great thing.

“And if things go wrong, I just want to finish strong. Because I want to fight, I’m not going to go there just to participate. I’m going to really give everything there. That’s my goal. But the outcome, I don’t know. We’ll see.”