Khalid Khannouchi celebrates with his trophy, Sunday, April 14, 2002, after winning the London Marathon. Photos © AP Images

Khalid Khannouchi Marathon Runner

Through Highs and Lows, Runner Khannouchi Keeps a Steady Pace

A s in his marathons, run-

ner Khalid Khannouchi

maintains a steady

pace in dealing with life’s highs

and lows.

First the highs: Khannouchi

has broken the marathon world

record twice — making him one

of only five men to break the

record more than once and one of

only four to break his own world

record. He broke the 20-kilome-

ter world record once. He won

the Chicago Marathon four times

and the London Marathon once.

And now the lows: injuries have

taken him out of competition and

heavy training in recent years. But

adversity has strengthened his

resolve to be a champion runner

once again. “I still have the ability

to run, and I still have the ability

to compete,” Khannouchi said,

adding that his optimism is shared

by his coaches, therapists and the

people with whom he trains.

But Khannouchi has goals that

have nothing to do with running.

“I want to finish college,” he said.

“I’m dreaming of becoming a good

businessman, maybe extend-

ing a helping hand to people

who need help when it comes to

the world of running. I’m trying

to translate that success that I had

as a runner and prove that I can

be successful somewhere else.”

Born in Morocco in 1971, Khalid

Yusuf Abdurahman Khannouchi

moved to the United States in 1992

and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

“My upbringing in Morocco had a

huge impact on my development

as a marathoner,” he said. “My

parents taught me the importance

of being humble, disciplined, hon-

est and patient. And now I think

all these qualities really helped

my career to grow and helped me

to be a better person.”

Khannouchi believes running

can be good for anyone and

everyone. “I want to advise peo-

ple — especially the people who

never thought about exercising

as being fun — that running is

good exercise for losing weight

and getting rid of stress.”

His own involvement in running,

he said, has made him many

friends of different nationalities

and religions.

“I think running can bridge gaps

between nations and people from

different countries and conti-

nents. I hope running can be

a good tool that can be used for

peace all over the world,” he said.

Embassy of the United States of America PROMINENT ARAB AMERICANS

Rashid Abdu, Physician

Ahmed Ahmed, Comedian

Moustapha Akkad, Film Director

Michael DeBakey, Heart Surgeon

Farouk El-Baz, Geologist

Gaida, Singer

Kahlil Gibran, Artist and Poet

Joseph Haiek, Publisher

Salma Hayek, Actress

Casey Kasem, Radio Broadcaster

DJ Khaled, Rap Music Artist

Khalid Khannouchi, Marathon Runner

Ferial Masry, Community Activist

Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space

Naomi Shihab Nye, Author

Ameen Rihani, Poet

Edward Said, Author and Activist

Kareem Salama, Singer

Betty Shamieh, Playwright

Rashida Tlaib, Politician

Elias Zerhouni, Medical Vanguard

Ahmed Zewail, Chemist

Prominent Arab Americans

U N I T E D S TA T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S TA T EB U R E A U O F I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N P R O G R A M S

Prominent Arab Americans Featured in This Series

El-Baz

Gaida

DeBakey

Akkad

Abdu

Ahmed

Gibran

Haiek

Khaled

Rihani

Shamieh

Shihab Nye

Kasem

Zewail

McAuliffe

Said

Zerhouni

Masry

Hayek

Tlaib

Khannouchi

Salama

Revised May, 2012