Moroccan-Born Runner Shatters Spanish Marathon Record in Valencia

Originally from Nador, Hamid Ben Daoud, at the age of 14, had revealed himself in two sports disciplines, namely football and athletics. With his future compromised in Morocco where professional integration is difficult, he decided to immigrate to Spain. At the first opportunity, Ben Daoud did not hesitate to hide under a truck to reach the peninsula. Arrived in Algeciras, he took a bus to Bilbao where, little by little, he began to make a name for himself as a futsal player, arousing the interest of clubs in the region.

See: Moroccan-Born Runner Equals Spanish Marathon Record in Valencia

Unfortunately for him, he was undocumented and a minor. He could therefore not benefit from any contract. This is how Ben Daoud found himself in the Loiu youth center and decided to leave football in favor of athletics. In his spare time, he did sprints and gradually evolved towards endurance races, until he landed in the marathon.

See: Spanish Runner Ayad Lamdassem Stuns with 5th Place Finish in Olympic Marathon

Ben Daoud has already participated in six marathons during which he has improved his performance, going from 2:12:31 in Valencia in 2017 to 2:10:21 in 2018, still in Valencia, to 2:08:14 in Prague in 2019, to 2:07:33 in 2020 in Seville, to 2:07:03 in Valencia, and to 2:06:35 in Valencia at the beginning of December, where he equaled the record of Ayad Lamdassem, another Spaniard of Moroccan origin.

At only 25 years old, Ben Daoud has a beautiful and long career ahead of him. He still has many records to break, and to achieve this goal, he is aware that he will have to work hard to improve his performance. Arrived in Spain under a truck, he can now boast of being the fastest Spaniard of all time in the marathon.