bayanealyaoume.press.ma
Translated from Arabic
Date: August 16, 2017
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Moroccan/Bahraini runner Al-Siddiq Mikho said that he is happy to represent the Kingdom of Bahrain in the 1500m final in the activities of the 16th World Championships in Athletics, which concluded last Sunday in London, explaining the reasons that led him to choose to represent the small Gulf state instead of his home country.
Mikho confirmed in an interview with him today's statement that the Bahrain Athletics Federation provided him with all the capabilities to prepare for the London World Cup, denying that Moroccan runner Khaled Boulami was behind the defense of Bahrain's colors, and criticized the actions of some runners who are looking for money without effort.
Mikho highlighted that he is still able to impose his name as a Bahraini runner in the upcoming elections, predicting the emergence of promising and strong Moroccan names in the future, and noting that he worked to allocate financial support to the Moroccan runner Ibrahim Akshab, who failed to qualify for the 1500m race, but he was never tempted to join the Bahraini team. .
How did you start the 1500m final?
> The race was fast, and I felt like I could win a medal. You qualify to win third place. But - unfortunately - I did not progress during the last 500m, and the Kenyans took the initiative and raised the pace. In the 300m I tried my best to catch up with them and almost made it, but I didn't succeed in the end, feeling very tired in the last metres.
< How do you feel when you participate in the world championship under the flag of a country other than your country of origin?
> Frankly, as a person, I feel about Morocco as any person born in a place feels, but as a runner I run as a representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain and I feel that I am running a race for this country.
< How did you choose to represent Bahrain, and was it easy?
> My choice was not only easy, but I chose Bahrain and I am happy for that. Why? In 2015 I was in Morocco, and I had the second best timing after Abdelati Iguider. I wanted to participate in the world championship. I waited to be called, but it didn't. I remember that technical director Ahmed Al-Tanani called me just 18 days before the start of the tournament, and told me that the time allotted for achieving the minima had ended. He added that he had intended to include me in the Moroccan national team, but I failed and another runner was sent to replace me. As I said before, I was the second best Moroccan sprinter in the 1500m. And you can imagine with me the case of a runner who aspires to participate in the world championship and owns the minima that allows him to do so, and even ranks 13th in the world, and in the end he misses the championship. It will be very difficult for him.
< What did Bahrain offer you to accept the offer of its representation?
> The Kingdom of Bahrain provided me with all possibilities. They also agreed to include my coach. They hired me. I have a monthly salary from the Bahraini military forces, and I have a salary from the Bahrain Athletics Federation.
< There are accusations that the former runner Khaled Boulami is behind the naturalization of a group of Moroccan runners, is this true?
> No.. It is true that my first meeting with Bolami was in Bahrain, but my decision came at the behest of a non-Moroccan who gave me the phone numbers of Bahraini officials if I wanted to represent Bahrain. In fact, this is what happened and contacted them.
< There are Moroccan runners who said that they later regretted it. How do you see that?
> There are runners who refuse to work.. Any athletics federation does not pay salaries to its runners. For example, Hisham El Guerrouj did not receive a salary from the university, but rather has a salary as an employee in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and he also has his own projects. As for the Bahraini Federation, it employs you in a specific job, but it does not control it, but rather it is subject to the institution in which you were employed, such as the military forces for me. For example, the Job Foundation requires the runner to join the job if the enemy has retired or advanced in age, and not residing in Morocco while receiving his salary. Honestly, everything is available to him in Bahrain. I marvel at such people.
< It is said that his passports are withdrawn these runners?
> No, there is no passport, but a mission passport, which is more like a national identification card that starts at a specific time and ends at a specific time. It is similar to a Moroccan whose passport expired while he was in Europe, and therefore he has to return to Morocco in order to renew the passport.
< Aren't you afraid that you will get the same problem that these people have fallen into?
>Frankly..I'm not afraid of that. I am still able to impose my name in athletics. The level that I presented today, was not the level expected of me.
<A final word to the Moroccan
public..> I deeply regret this situation. And I thank the people from the region of Amzmiz who encourage me and tell me: I wish I had defended the colors of Morocco. There are heroes who are better than me. The simplest model is Ibrahim Akshab, who, if he had found the possibilities and support, would have been present in the final as well.
< There is news that promotes that you are behind the temptation of Akhab to represent Bahrain, what is the truth of that?
> No one knew Akshab, although last year he achieved a time of 3d and 47s. I watched him run and asked him to join me in training, and even suggested that he allocate a monthly salary (2,500 dirhams) from my own pocket. I also helped him by giving him some of my gym clothes. And now he crowned the 1500m race at the Mohammed VI Forum and was not dreaming of it, knowing that he was thinking of leaving athletics. I promise you that Akhab will remain with Morocco so that he can say his word in the coming days.
