Doha (AFP)

"We have lost the connection with our audience," laments Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, legend of the middle distance (quadruple world champion and double Olympic champion), questioned by AFP on the lack of spectators at the Worlds, which take place in Doha until Sunday.

Question: How important was the audience for your performance?

Answer: "The public has always played an important role in my career, it was the driving force, the trigger for my performances, but sometimes stadiums are less fulfilled, as in my mile world records (Rome 1999) and 2000 m (Berlin 1999) When they are full, it pushes to go fast as in Sydney in 2000 (Olympics), Paris in 2003 (Worlds) or Athens in 2004 (Olympics) It is normal, we are just beings humans, we train all year long in the void, in the forest, without anyone, at the stadium with our coach only? "

Q: How to judge the lack of public in Doha so far?

A: "It's a problem, but not only in Doha, which has always existed, in several championships.If we talk about 1999 in Seville (Spain) the stadium was empty the first five days, Edmonton (Canada, 2001) also Today it is true that there are problems in Doha, but it is a bigger problem of athletics, we have lost the connection with our public, we have to do better to attract people. we practice an exceptional sport, the first practiced by the human being, more practiced than football.We lack tools to attract the public to the stadium. "

Q: The marathon conditions in Doha (men run on Saturday), are not they dangerous?

Imbold: "Dangerous contraire - I'm not alexist, it's difficult toease with me, it was difficult to wear, Periodical - I have already had difficult periods, as at Seville in 1997, you haveiences tolande, and you have tolande. We had to come here to Doha, tomorrow we will have to go elsewhere, to new continents, to other countries, we can not make this sport universal without taking the risk of going to other countries. like Qatar. "

Q: The final of the 1500 my place on Sunday, how to explain that your world record still holds (3: 26.00 in Rome in 1998)?

A: "When I beat my world records (he also owns the + mile and the 2,000m, ed) I did not think they would hold that long, and for me records are set to be beaten. I am happy and proud that they hold, but unhappy at the same time that no athlete could approach them in 22 years.It is true that they are hard to beat, I had suffered greatly to achieve them. The + mile + is the most difficult to beat. "

Q: How was this famous race in Rome?

A: "It was July 14, 1998, just after France won the World Cup in Paris, I remember in the morning, while I was doing my jogging, Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopian double Olympic champion) come to me and say to me: + Hicham, today you will beat the world record + and I beat him Mentally and physically I was very strong I should have run less than 3 min 25 sec I had the capacity My goal was less than 3 minutes 24. "

Q: You ran in 2003 against Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, today the two best marathoners in the world. What do they inspire you?

A: "Both are outstanding athletes who have made their mark in history, already in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and they continue to run, to excel and push their bodies, they do things that are unimaginable. ability to run the marathon in less than two hours easily.They have endurance, physical and mental strength.I hope to see Kipchoge drop the barrier of two hours (Kenyan will try in an unofficial marathon on the 12th October in Vienna). "

Interview by Ziad Bouraad and Robin Gremmel

© 2019 AFP