Suspicion and Intrigue on the Track at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics | Strangest Moments

Clever gamesmanship or suspicious shenanigans? The intriguing story of Khalid Skah and the Barcelona 1992 10,000 meter race.

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[intldawn]

I love how two days later, the crowd was like, we ain't forgot. They got zero chill.

[WORLDNSHKNIGHT]

4:25 The Medal presentation lady definitely enjoying her moment

[stardust]

The silver medalist Richard Chelimo, Rest in peace, he passed away back in 2001 in Eldoret, Kenya....he was a good guy.

[nlm]

I feel like Boutayeb should have incurred a suspension/ban for his actions in the race. And looking up Skah and Chelimo - just sad what became of them later in life. Chelimo died at a young age of a brain tumor less than 10 years after Barcelona. Skah was involved in a very messy custody case, lost, and did not give his children back to his wife and all of this led to an arrest and a diplomatic issue between Norway and Morocco. Sounds like a very complicated situation.

[alexlee]

Bruh it’s literally common sense on the track to move aside for other runners.

[EvilMonkey]

I've actually watched this race. He blocked both men, slowing both of them down, not just the Kenyan. Likely a bad case of pride, not liking being lapped.

[palacerevolution]

It's ludicrous for people to state that Boutayeb hindered both racers. It is much more draining on a runner, mentally and physically, to have momentum denied, to lose rhythm, especially if you don't know what the next step will bring. This was a joint effort. Skah pretty much knew the moves B was going to make; he hung back, and was not losing energy by having to pat attention tot he ongoing situation. Matter of fact - Skah seemed way more preoccupied with what was happening behind them; making sure their little party wasn't bothered. Also, had Skah really been remorseful at ceremony, like he tells it, there are gestures and actions on can take to convey this.

[markovelikonja]

I remember this at the time. It's a tough one. Boutayeb was a good runner and there's no reason he should have been lapped. I agreed with reinstating Skah because if you can't prove he and Boutayeb colluded, it's rather unfair to DQ him. Skah was a great runner and certainly capable of beating Chelimo without help. This kind of thing hasn't happened since but there probably needs to be a clear policy that you pull the lapped runner off the track if he doesn't stay way clear.

[Bellinghamspence]

Lapped runners are always suppose to move out to the outer lanes. I had the Cable Red, White and Blue channel to watch all of the Olympics. Took two weeks off from work. It Was great. All the heats.

[DjVortex-w]

He received assistance. If they conspired in advance, that makes it so much worse, but even if they didn't, that still doesn't remove the fact that he received assistance. I doubt the cited rule specifies that assistance becomes acceptable if the athlete being assisted isn't on the plot nor agrees with it.

[fmshyanguya]

Even Skah doesn’t dispute Boutayeb’s unsportsmanlike conduct. Only the conspiracy couldn’t be proved.

[xflynskywlkr]

At the end of the day he received assistance, whether is was planned or not. The Kenyan was impeded. He should have been demoted to silver at the very least.

[fem]

The strange move is when they were about to lap Boutayeb, why did Skah slow down and let Chelimo be in front of him at this specific moment? Has anyone asked him (or Chelimo at the time) about that? Because they seemed to talk...

[romanbis]

I know Skah personally, he was very angry and got to the point of insulting hammou for what he did. He was yelling at him and telling him to get out of the way. Believe me,
there was no agreement at all and Skah was a double world champion who defeated the Kenyans and Ethiopians in the World cross country and the five thousand and ten thousand meters .

[joeyjerry]

The only person who knows what was going on in the track Skah and Boutayeb. No one else knows what they were talking about. Just because it looks bad does not mean it is bad. Skah might have been lying or telling the truth. They were talking but of course no one could hear.

[runcaz]

Lapped runners getting into the mix with the leaders? How embarrassing and pathetic can it get? The official should have tackled him and dragged him off the track.

[zoluhwa]

There was another video inwatched that people at the stadium stated that Skah and Boutayeb almost had a fight after the race didnt ask for any type of help, he and boutayeb were both running for morrocco but they didnt even train together...plus watching the video it didnt seem like boutayeb was even helping skah, looked like boutayeb was giving both skah and the kenyan a hard time by passing them and then blocking both of them.

[teqnov]

So didnt both athletes get screwed by the back marker? Like what advantage did skah get from it? Both were distracted and had to move round him

[headphonic]

To be fair, he was blocking both of them. Not just the Kenyan.

[geraldfindon]

R.I.P Richard Chelimo, 21-4-1972 to 15-8-2001