Khalid Skah
Encyclopedia
Khalid Skah (born January 29, 1967) is a Moroccan
athlete, winner of 10 000 m at the 1992 Summer Olympics
.
Born in Midelt
, Morocco, Khalid Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner by winning the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
in 1990 and 1991.
His first major tournament on track was 1991 World Championships
where he at first won a bronze in 10 000 m and then finished sixth at the 5000 m run. This was a disappointing outcome for Skah as, earlier in the season, he had won the 10000 m race in Oslo against a very strong field and had emerged as one of the favourites for the finals in Tokyo. However, for the 10 000 m final Richard Chelimo
and the eventual world champion, Moses Tanui
(both of Kenya) employed some very elaborate tactics and worked as a team. By the time of the 5000 m final Skah was probably tired. Yobes Ondieki
(Kenya) who won the gold medal over 5000 m had expected Skah to be his major rival.
At the Barcelona
Olympics, Khalid Skah had a long duel with Richard Chelimo
from Kenya
in the 10 000 m. When they were lapping another Moroccan Hammou Boutayeb
, the latter interfered with Chelimo and Skah went on to win a second
ahead of the Kenyan. After the race Skah was accused of receiving undue assistance from Boutayeb and was disqualified, but was later reinstated on a technicality. During the presentation ceremony, held the next day, Skah was loudly booed by the crowd as he received his medal; Chelimo received a standing ovation.
In 1993 Skah won the 5000 m race at the prestigious meeting in Zurich. However, he finished fifth in 5000 m at the 1993 World Championships
. He ran his only world record
in 2 miles
(8:12.17) on the same season. He won the 1994 World Semi-Marathon Championships and finished second in 10 000 m at the 1995 World Championships
.
Skah's last major international tournament was 1996 Summer Olympics
, where he finished seventh in 10 000 m. In 1995, Skah was given Norwegian citizenship, where he lived and trained with athletes club B.U.L
. After that, the Moroccan Athletics Association banned him from international competitions. Skah was reinstated in 2001 after which he tried a come-back to re-establish himself as one of the world's best long distance runners, finishing tenth in the World Half Marathon Championships
that year.
, Skah lost custody of the 2 children that he has parented together with Anne Cecilie Hopstock. As of 2009, Skah had not been served (with) the verdict.
interior design
er Anne Cecilie Hopstock after his Barcelona
triumph, and they have two children. The marriage
ended in divorce
after the family relocated to Morocco
in 2006.
Skah lost a custody
battle with his former wife in Norwegian
court
s two years later, yet failed to return the children. He is indicted on kidnapping
, threat
s and domestic disturbance
charges in Norway
.
The children fled Morocco
in July 2009. The Norwegian
embassy's alleged improper sheltering of the dual-citizenship
children during their escape has led to a diplomatic
dispute between the two countries. Skah has issued a reward and filed for custody
in Morocco
. The former track champion maintains his innocence
, claims the children were abducted
and asserts that armed Norwegian
commando
s intruded into his home. Hopstock later confirmed she had hired off-duty naval rangers
to help her sail
her children out of Moroccan
waters.
Skah's sister is married to the Finnish runner Janne Holmén
and lives in Uppsala
, Sweden
.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
athlete, winner of 10 000 m at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
.
Born in Midelt
Midelt
Midelt is a town in central Morocco, in the high plains between the Middle Atlas and High Atlas mountain ranges. With an estimated population of 44,780, Midelt serves as the commercial center of a large agricultural hinterland. It is also one of Morocco's principal cities for the mining of several...
, Morocco, Khalid Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner by winning the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
in 1990 and 1991.
His first major tournament on track was 1991 World Championships
1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
where he at first won a bronze in 10 000 m and then finished sixth at the 5000 m run. This was a disappointing outcome for Skah as, earlier in the season, he had won the 10000 m race in Oslo against a very strong field and had emerged as one of the favourites for the finals in Tokyo. However, for the 10 000 m final Richard Chelimo
Richard Chelimo
Richard Chelimo was a Kenyan athlete, and a former world and world junior record holder over 10,000 m...
and the eventual world champion, Moses Tanui
Moses Tanui
Moses Tanui is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who won the gold medal over 10000 m at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo....
(both of Kenya) employed some very elaborate tactics and worked as a team. By the time of the 5000 m final Skah was probably tired. Yobes Ondieki
Yobes Ondieki
Yobes Ondieki is a former Kenyan 5000 m runner, who won the World Championships' gold medal in Tokyo 1991. In the same year he set a temporary Kenyan 5000 m record of 13:01.82 in Zurich...
(Kenya) who won the gold medal over 5000 m had expected Skah to be his major rival.
At the Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
Olympics, Khalid Skah had a long duel with Richard Chelimo
Richard Chelimo
Richard Chelimo was a Kenyan athlete, and a former world and world junior record holder over 10,000 m...
from Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in the 10 000 m. When they were lapping another Moroccan Hammou Boutayeb
Hammou Boutayeb
Hammou Boutayeb is a Moroccan long-distance runner. He specialized in the 10,000 metresBoutayeb won a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships held in Seville, Spain.-Achievements:-External links:...
, the latter interfered with Chelimo and Skah went on to win a second
Second
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
ahead of the Kenyan. After the race Skah was accused of receiving undue assistance from Boutayeb and was disqualified, but was later reinstated on a technicality. During the presentation ceremony, held the next day, Skah was loudly booed by the crowd as he received his medal; Chelimo received a standing ovation.
In 1993 Skah won the 5000 m race at the prestigious meeting in Zurich. However, he finished fifth in 5000 m at the 1993 World Championships
1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
. He ran his only world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
in 2 miles
Two miles
The 2 mile is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets, perhaps because it provides an easier record to break for meet promoters , as well as its historical chronology. It is largely superseded by the 3000 m and 5000 m, and by the 3200m in...
(8:12.17) on the same season. He won the 1994 World Semi-Marathon Championships and finished second in 10 000 m at the 1995 World Championships
1995 World Championships in Athletics
The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
.
Skah's last major international tournament was 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, where he finished seventh in 10 000 m. In 1995, Skah was given Norwegian citizenship, where he lived and trained with athletes club B.U.L
IL i BUL
Idrottslaget i Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo is a sports club in Oslo, Norway, founded on 8 January 1913. It is one of several branches of Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo, a local chapter of Noregs Mållag and Noregs Ungdomslag....
. After that, the Moroccan Athletics Association banned him from international competitions. Skah was reinstated in 2001 after which he tried a come-back to re-establish himself as one of the world's best long distance runners, finishing tenth in the World Half Marathon Championships
2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 10th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 7, 2001 in the city of Bristol, UK, and was run simultaneously with that year's Bristol Half Marathon. A total of 200 athletes, 125 men and 75 women, from 52 countries took part.-Individual:...
that year.
Custody hearing in Norway in 2008
In 2008 at Oslo District CourtOslo District Court
Oslo District Court is the district court serving Oslo, Norway. Cases may be appealed to Borgarting Court of Appeal. As the largest district court in Norway, it handles about 20% of all cases in the country...
, Skah lost custody of the 2 children that he has parented together with Anne Cecilie Hopstock. As of 2009, Skah had not been served (with) the verdict.
Personal life
Khalid Skah married NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
er Anne Cecilie Hopstock after his Barcelona
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
triumph, and they have two children. The marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
ended in divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
after the family relocated to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in 2006.
Skah lost a custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
battle with his former wife in Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
s two years later, yet failed to return the children. He is indicted on kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, threat
Threat
Threat of force in public international law is a situation between states described by British lawyer Ian Brownlie as:The 1969 Vienna convention on the Law of Treaties notes in its preamble that both the threat and the use of force are prohibited...
s and domestic disturbance
Domestic Disturbance
Domestic Disturbance is a 2001 thriller film directed by Harold Becker and stars John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. It co-stars Teri Polo, Matt O'Leary and Steve Buscemi.-Plot:...
charges in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
The children fled Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in July 2009. The Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
embassy's alleged improper sheltering of the dual-citizenship
Multiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...
children during their escape has led to a diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
dispute between the two countries. Skah has issued a reward and filed for custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. The former track champion maintains his innocence
Innocence
Innocence is a term used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime.-Symbolism:...
, claims the children were abducted
Child abduction
Child abduction or Child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor from the custody of the child's natural or legally appointed guardians....
and asserts that armed Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
s intruded into his home. Hopstock later confirmed she had hired off-duty naval rangers
Marinejegerkommandoen
Marinejegerkommandoen is a Norwegian maritime special forces unit. It was formally established in 1951. It is located in Ramsund in the northern part of Norway and at Haakonsvern Naval Base in Bergen...
to help her sail
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
her children out of Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
waters.
Skah's sister is married to the Finnish runner Janne Holmén
Janne Holmén
Janne Sven-Åke Holmén is a former Finnish long-distance runner.Holmén's biggest achievement was winning the marathon event in the 2002 European Championships in Athletics in Munich, Germany, finishing in 2:12:04. In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Holmén finished in 22nd place, with...
and lives in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.