Running Form & Efficiency: A Guide

He is brave. Moha Attaoui, the new great diamond of the Spanish middle distance, has once again shown her courage on the charming Madrid court of Gallur, in the heart of the Latina neighborhood. The indoor track season has barely begun (the newly baptized ‘short track’), the … An athlete of Moroccan blood and Cantabrian upbringing, he decided to dare, announce a world record attempt and shoulder the weight of the pressure. Attaoui fears nothing. He dared to set a world record knowing that it was not going to be easy, that he could fail, that his season had barely started. He has the daring of champions and the daring of young people. It reminds me many times of the great, unforgettable Yago Lamela, who used to say to journalists: “yes, put pressure on me, it doesn’t overwhelm me: I like it.” The greats never shy away from the weight of expectations, the pressure of the public, the tension of great moments, when the heads end up failing the weakest.

Attaoui left behind the hares, in fact he started through the outer streets, leaving the departure of his rivals further behind, as if he were flying in ‘business’ class and the others were in tourist. When the hares withdrew, he was left alone, like the stars, like those unforgettable Nordic nights of Coe and Ovett from the last century. Then he brought out his lightness, the unbearable (for his rivals) lightness of his stride, his way of sliding down the court, that mouse-like agility that he usually shows when he moves within the pack. He didn’t need it this time because the platoon saw him from far behind. Attaoui has a peculiar stride, he does not float like Femke Bol, he does not raise his hips, he hardly bounces, he pushes just enough, but he slides in an efficient, economical way that only he knows.

There is no doubt that Moha is going to bring a lot of joy to Spanish athletics. Together with the Valencian Llopis he has become the man of fashion. He is ambitious but humble, always tenacious and very determined when it comes to achieving his goals. He rides very comfortably in the 800, he has shown solvency in the 1,000 and he will be a great in the 1,500. He is going step by step and his career seems well directed by German coach Thomas Dreissigacker. He has physical quality and the head of a winner. It also has the difficult courage to dare. With a world record. With whatever. To beat a European record, sometimes you have to go for a world record. Athletics gives you what it gives you, not what you ask for.

Last summer I had the opportunity to have dinner with him. It was in London. Attaoui had run the 800 meters in the Diamond League and had not been happy with his performance. We talked a lot about middle distance, about Spanish athletics, their training plans, about the new shoes. He was also very attentive to his girlfriend, who was about to run the final of the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the European Championships, and he did not eat anything, waiting to watch the race on his mobile phone. I told him: “Your pizza is going to get cold, Moha, eat.” He looked at me, with a shy smile. “No, I can’t yet,” he replied, “I’m very nervous.” And I thought that, in addition to being a formidable middle distance runner, he was a good guy.

Session limit reached

• Access to Premium content is open courtesy of the establishment you are in, but right now there are too many users logged in at once. Please try again after a few minutes.

try again

You have exceeded the session limit

• You can only have three sessions started at a time. We have closed the oldest session so you can continue browsing the rest without limits.

Keep browsing