Right after crossing the finish line, Yassine Ouhdadi began spreading love. She embraced with his support in the stands and, immediately afterwards, with the Asturian marathon runner Alberto Suárez Laso, sixth at 45 years old with a time of 15: 29.75. Ouhdadi had been waiting for him for several seconds (15:16.97), like the rest of the runners. This Monday, nobody could follow the 28-year-old Catalan, just as nobody could follow him at the Tokyo Games, where gold was hung. In the World Cups in France, he has repeated: athletics world champion paralympic in the 5,000 (category T13 for visually impaired), with a ticket for Paris 2024. Another piece of history to his name. And there are already two of the great ones in a row. Hugs were followed by kisses for the camera. For his family, who has suffered so much and has made him grow so much.
At the Charlèty stadium in Paris, his strides followed one another in rhythm, fast. Not even the Australian Jaryd Clifford, who arrived with the best mark of the season, could follow them. He pushed as hard as he could, with an attack at 200 meters, but he was left two seconds behind (15:18.23). Enough for Ouhdadi, who came to Spain from Morocco when he was six years old, to be crowned again. how he deserves it With total blindness in his left eye and partial blindness in his right, due to inoperable birth cataracts, the Catalan athlete, with eight siblings, grew up in Tortosa (Tarragona). He was only able to study until he was 15 years old, when he was forced to stop to help out at home, with a grocery store. He did not start in athletics until 2014. He did it for leisure, but the Spanish Paralympic Committee soon selected him for the national team, with which he also won silver at the Dubai World Cups (2019). Today, he was climbing to the next step. At the top.
Adiaratou touches the same double
Ouhdadi shines more and more in the history of national Paralympic athletics, in which Adiaratou Iglesias, who also ensured his presence in the next Games, already has a few pages. This Monday, he added another. By thousandths, it was not gold. She shared time (100 meter dash, category T13) with the Azerbaijani Lamiya Valiyeva, who stopped the clock in 11.99, but was a breath behind. She is her third world silver after being runner-up twice (100 and 200) in Dubai 2019. To all this, the gold in Tokyo in the 100 meters is added. The Galician touched the double (Olympic and world gold) of her partner Yassine and added the fourth medal for Spain. This Sunday, the delegation debuted its counter with the bronzes of Joan Munar (long jump, category T11) and Judith Tortosa (100 meters, frame running).