Posted: July 8, 2004

Athletics: Khannouchi world record named 24th top moment of last 25 years

INDIANAPOLIS – Khalid Khannouchi setting the men’s world record in the marathon in 2002 was honored by USA Track & Field on Thursday as the 24th greatest moment in U.S track and field in the last 25 years. To help mark the 25th anniversary of USA Track & Field, fans joined USATF in selecting the Top 25 Moments in American Track & Field during the past quarter century. Fans voted for what they consider to be the top moments in the sports of track & field, long-distance running, and race walking by voting online at USATF's website, www.usatf.org. The final list of Top 25 Moments, to be announced each week throughout 2004, were selected by a panel of the sport’s experts in conjunction with fan voting. To be eligible for the Top 25 Moments list, the moments must have occurred between 1979-2004. In what many called the greatest marathon competition in history, Khannouchi won the 2002 London Marathon in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 38 seconds, a time four seconds faster than the world record he set as a citizen of Morocco at the 1999 Chicago Marathon. Khannouchi, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000, won the race by a ten-second margin over all-time greats Paul Tergat of Kenya and Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who placed second and third, respectively. Six men ran faster that 2:08.

With his record-setting performance Khannouchi became the first American to set the men’s world record in the marathon since June 15, 1963 when Leonard “Buddy” Edelen ran 2:14:28 at the Windsor-Chiswick Marathon in England. Suggestions for USATF’s Top 25 Moments were taken through February 22, 2004. Fans voted for their favorite moments beginning February 28 and ending on June 20. The Top 25 Moments will be announced in reverse order, one per week, leading up to the USATF Annual Meeting in December, where the top three moments will be revealed.

For more information on USATF’ Top 25 Moments, visit www.usatf.org.

USATF Top 25 Moments
25. Jackie Joyner-Kersee breaks 7,000-point barrier in the heptathlon.
24. Khalid Khannouchi sets men’s world marathon record in 2002.

From USATF.org.