Former Spanish sprinter Isak Viciosa has publicly apologized to sprinter Mohamed Keter, after saying he would have preferred to break his national record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase "an athlete with the name of Spain".
Keter, who was born in Morocco but grew up in Spain and represents it internationally, broke Visiosa's 23-year record by about two seconds after he clocked 7:27.64 at the Gateshead Diamond League meeting last Tuesday.
He also holds the Spanish records in the 1500 and 5000 meters and will represent Spain in the last race at the Tokyo Olympics, which begins on Friday.
Visiosa told Soi Corridor that he would have preferred to beat his own record as an "athlete with a Spanish name", which sparked angry reactions.
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Many responded to his account on Instagram, defending his origins, and Jose Manuel Franco, president of the Supreme Council of Sports in Spain, criticized Viseusa on Twitter.
Visiosa wrote - in a letter - a public apology, "I would like to make it clear that after an interview in which the journalist was loyal to the answers I provided, the first thing I did was send a message to Muhammad a lot, apologizing for my words and anything that might hurt him."
"I also apologized for distracting him during his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics," he added.