Khalid Khannouchi
UNITED STATES
BIRTHDATE:
December 22, 1971
PERSONAL BEST:
2:05:38 (London, 2002)
WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:
22Apr07 Flora London Marathon DNF
23Apr06 Flora London Marathon 4th 2:07:04
10Oct04 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 5th 2:08:44
13Oct02 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 1st 2:05:56
14Apr02 Flora London Marathon 1st 2:05:38 (WR)
03Aug01 IAAF World Championships Marathon DNF
22Oct00 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 1st 2:07:01
16Apr00 Flora London Marathon 3rd 2:08:36
24Oct99 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 1st 2:05:42 (WR)
11Oct98 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 2nd 2:07:19
19Oct97 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 1st 2:07:10
ADDITIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
03Nov07 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 4th 2:12:34
CAREER NOTES:
Khannouchi has twice set world records for the marathon – first with 2:05:42 at Chicago in 1999 and then with 2:05:38 at London in 2002. Representing Morocco, he won the World University Games 5,000m in Buffalo, New York. He showed great form at shorter distances on the roads in 1997 before running the fastest ever debut marathon to win in 2:07:10 at Chicago in 1997, just 20 seconds off the world record. A year later he was second in Chicago despite a stress fracture in his heel, and in 1999 returned to Chicago to earn $165,000 in his World Record setting victory (2:05:42).
In 2000, after placing third at London and becoming a U.S. citizen, he won Chicago again to set a U.S. record with 2:07:01. He did not finish the 2001 World Championships Marathon, but exploded the following year with another World Record and U.S. Record in London (beating Paul Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie), a fourth Chicago win and became the only man to have run three sub-2:06 marathons. Khalid continued to suffer through foot and knee injuries in 2004 to place third at the Philadelphia Distance Run Half Marathon (1:01:21) and fifth at Chicago in 2:08:44.
Shortly following the Chicago race, Khalid underwent surgery to combat the career-stifling injury in his metatarsal bone. His recovery kept him out of the 2005 marathon season, but he returned in April for the 2006 London Marathon. Khalid finished fourth behind a strong field including 2005 Chicago champion, Felix Limo.
After a disappointing non-finish at the Flora London Marathon in the spring of 2007 it looked like Khannouchi's best marathon days were behind him but he rallied for a splendid fourth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials in early November and as first alternate still had a chance to compete in the Olympic Games should marathon team member Dathan Ritzenhein also make the U.S. 10,000 team and chose only to compete in that event.
Khannouchi's career average of his five fastest marathons is 2:06:16.2, the best in history ahead of Tergat (2:06:39.0) and Limo (2:06:40.6).
PERSONAL NOTES:
In 1993, having felt that he was not appreciated in his home country, Khannouchi moved from Morocco to Brooklyn, NY and eventually became a U.S. citizen in May 2000. Khannouchi married Sandra Inoa, who ran for the Dominican Republic in the 1991 World Championships Marathon and in 1996 she became his coach and manager. They now reside in Ossining, NY.
