Posted: February 23, 2004

Athletics: Baby Girl For Leghzaoui

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved < RaceResultsWeekly.com>

Moroccan athlete Asmae Leghzaoui, who was suspended by the Fédération Royale Marocaine d'Athlétisme (FRMA) for two years for a doping violation, delivered a baby girl on 19-Feb at 6:48 p.m. at the Chester County Hospital in West Chester, Pa., USA. The baby's name, according to her manager Hussein Makke of Elite Sports Management International, is Mayer and she weighed 6 lbs., 3 oz. (2.81 kg) and was 18 1/4 inches long (46.4 cm). Mother and child are doing fine.

Leghzaoui, 27, was little known in June, 2002 when she won the New York Mini 10-K in 30:29, then a world record. Thirty-five days later she set a world best for 8 km at the Crazy 8's 8-K in Kingsport, Tenn., running 24:28.

Her performances began to decline late in the summer of 2002 when she was plagued by mysterious health problems, including alternating high fever and chills which sent her to the emergency room.

In March, 2003, after doubling at the the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Avenche, Switzerland, finishing 18th in the long course and 12th in the short course, Leghzaoui tested positive for the blood-boosting drug, EPO. She was suspended in May, 2003 for two years, retroactive to the date of the violation (29-Mar-2003).

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