'Stateless' runner wins Wimbledon 10k to highlight Western Sahara plight (From Your Local Guardian)

'Stateless' runner wins Wimbledon 10k to highlight Western Sahara plight

7:10am Tuesday 20th October 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

A stateless athlete has run to victory in Wimbledon to raise awareness of his homeland’s struggle for independence.

Salah Amaidane of Western Sahara took part in Sunday’s Wimbledon 10k to highlight the cause.

The 26-year-old athlete, who regularly trains with Paula Radcliffe, has come to Britain on a week long visit to campaign for the International Olympic Committee to recognise Western Sahara as the independent Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

As a junior athlete, Amaidane won international medals for Morocco - which occupied Western Sahara in 1975 - but after promoting independence for the territory’s Saharawi people he was barred from the team.

About 750 runners took part in this weekend’s 10km race through the streets of Wimbledon, which Amaidane won with a time of 32 minutes 42 seconds.

He said: “I enjoyed running the race in Wimbledon but it was hard for me as it is a lot colder and hillier than I am used to.”

He is a three times youth athletics champion of Morocco and runner up in the African Athletics Championships, but after unfurling an SADR flag at the finish line of a race he was banned from racing for Morocco and has not competed for any nation since.

Last week he said: “I have two dreams. The first is to compete in the Olympic Games, if not in London then in Rio in 2016.

“But an even greater dream than winning an Olympic gold medal is to see my country of Western Sahara free.”

Amaidane’s fastest 1500m time, of 3 minutes 32 seconds, would have been enough to win a gold in the event at this year’s Athletics World Championship in Berlin.

On Tuesday he was due to meet the All Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara to discuss his campaign.

Amaidane is currently a political refugee in France, and about 200,000 Saharawi are living in refugee camps in southern Algeria.

• What do you think? Let us know by email here, phone the newsdesk on 020 8330 9555 or leave a comment below.