Mohamed Attaoui is one of the great emerging figures of the Spanish athletics and he demonstrated it again last Saturday with a great victory in the 1,500 meters at the International Meeting of Catalonia held at the Pista Coberta in Sabadell. Without a doubt, Catalonia is good at it, since last summer he won the 800 meters of the Ciutat de Barcelona International Meeting at the Joan Serrahima.
Born in the Moroccan town of Beni Melai (halfway between Casablanca and Marrakech), He has lived in Cantabria since he was six years old. and exudes pride, gratitude and commitment every time he wears the colors of the Spanish team.
Attaoui is a humble and quiet boy who completely transforms on the courtwhere he behaves like a true ‘killer’ who emerged last year with his silver in 800 meters in a European sub’23 that he had to win and which earned him his debut in a major absolute championship in the last World Cup in Budapest, where he lowered his mark up to 1:44.25.
The new athlete of the On Athletics Club spoke with SPORT, of the Prensa Ibérica group, just after his victory in Sabadell and, with his usual calm, he outlined objectives and goals with the Paris Games on the horizon without forgetting that by then he will still be 22 years old (he will turn 23 in September). A great weekend for Spanish athletics with the sensational return of the Catalan María Vicente to the combined.
Catalonia is good at it, right? In six months she has won here twice…
The truth is that when my manager confirmed that I was going to race here, I was really looking forward to it. He knew that he had done very well last summer in Barcelona and that it was my first participation in that Meeting. I knew he was going to do just as well. So, of course, Barcelona is a special city for me.
That gesture he makes when crossing the finish line… What does it mean?
To some it may seem bad, but it’s like a rage that I like to get out, because before the race I was super nervous. I knew I was very strong, but you never know how the race can turn out. I have changed my training method, it was the first race with my new club and that puts pressure on me. So when I cross the finish line it’s like I let go of that and I like to say, here I am and I’m coming for everyone.
In Sabadell he got on the ‘milqui’, he left, they overtook him and he still saved another change to win…
I was clear that I was going to go out after the free one. I wanted to take risks and go for it. We had asked for a pace of 2:22, 2:23 to be around 3:35, which I perfectly could have done if I had taken the hare there. When the free lane went away with 800 to go, I said, it’s okay, I’m going to continue accelerating. I’m not going to slow down the race to try to win, I’m going to continue accelerating to try to find a good mark. If they want to pass me at the end, let them pass me, but I’m going to try to hold on.
But he had another change left!
Well, they passed me with 200 or so to go and I told myself that by my nose they weren’t going to beat me when I was the one who stood up and attacked.
Are you ready to stop being a big promise and start becoming a reality?
Yes. As I told you, I love pressure. I love it before the race, because that makes me very nervous to show what I am worth and what I have trained. And when I start, I give it my all. Now I can let off steam and do what I want. I think 2003 was quite good and this year I am ready to be at the top.
Outside of athletics are you so competitive?
No the truth is no.
Is it only when you compete?
Let’s see, I’m training super well, giving my life every day of the week and the normal thing is that later you want to let off steam on the court and take out everything you’ve done, right?
How do you feel competing for Spain?
Super good, I mean, I feel like the king of the world. More Spanish than anyone else. More Spanish than the tortilla, that’s clear.
Do you think about the Paris Games or do you see them far away?
It’s just that I’m not afraid of anything or anyone. I think that if the preparation continues as it is going, I am not afraid to say that they are going to have a very difficult time with me. I’m not going to give up anything. First I’m going to compete indoors and then there’s plenty of time to prepare for the outdoors.
How do you get along with yourself? Is it very demanding, very hard?
(Smile). Surely now when I get to the hotel or when we stop talking I’m going to say to myself, how angry it made me not to achieve a better record. It’s hard for me to be satisfied, but I think that’s good, because it allows me to keep wanting to improve and do things better in the next race. If I settle, I’m going to stay there and I’m not going to continue climbing.
2024-01-30 20:14:34
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