Athletes > Rashid Ramzi > Bio

Olympic return
Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain will make his second career Olympic appearance in Beijing this summer, and figures to make an impact in two middle-distance races. He plans on running both the men's 800m and 1,500m races, where he will look to become the first runner since "The Flying Kiwi" Peter Snell of New Zealand in 1964 to win gold in both events at the same Games.

Short season
Ramzi ran the 1,500m in just two major international meets during 2007. He finished sixth at the Brussels Grand Prix in three minutes, 36.20 seconds, and second at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan in 3:35.00. Ramzi's fastest 800m time of the season, a 1:45.64, ranked 36th in the world.

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Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain celebrates at the World Championships in Osaka.

Memorable mile
At the 2006 adidas Track Classic, Ramzi won the 1,500m in 3:32.34 after a spirited homestretch duel with American Bernard Lagat to run the fastest time ever seen on American soil. Ramzi's time erased the previous all-comers best of 3:32.53 run in the United States by Sebastian Coe of Great Britain when he retained his Olympic gold medal at the 1982 Los Angeles Olympics. Lagat was second in 3:32.94 for the fastest mark by an American at a U.S. All-Comers meet.

Historic double
Any doubts that lingered about Ramzi's greatness following his early exit from the Athens Olympics were dispelled at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. In just his second season of elite international racing, Ramzi completed the first-ever middle distance double at a World Championship, winning the 800m in 1:44.24 and the 1,500m in 3:37.88.

Meltdown motivation
Ramzi entered the 2004 Olympics in Athens with positive momentum, having run some very fast times earlier that season. But at the Games, he failed to reach the final of the men's 1,500m, a disappointment he says that continues to motivate him.

Opportunity abroad
Although he was born in Morocco, Ramzi was lured to Bahrain in 1998 when a friend suggested he join the military. The command -- Ramzi is a sergeant in the Royal Palace Guard -- has given him a certain amount of leeway. He can train and race outside of the country up to eight months of the year. Mostly he goes back to Morocco, where he trains in the high-altitude training camp in Ifrane. Out of necessity, though, he avoids training when the Moroccan national team is on the track.