WMA World Indoor Championships
Kamloops, Canada
March 1 – 6, 2010
Men’s 8000 Meter Cross Country Run
| 1st Place | Elarbi Khattabi | 24:09.00 |
Men’s 3000 Meter Run
| 1st Place | Elarbi Khattabi | 9:01.47 |
Men’s 1500 Meter Run
| 2nd Place | Elarbi Khattabi | 4:15.41 |
Elarbi has been a long time member of the Westchester Track Club. Elarbi first became acquainted with the Westchester Track Club after the 1992 World Cross Country Championships, which were held at Franklin Park in Boston. A member of Morocco’s National Team, Elarbi and four other Moroccan athletes decided to stay in the United States for the Spring track season. Coach Mike had been coaching Abidi Bouazza, also a former Moroccan National Team member, who moved to New Paltz two years earlier.
1992 was an Olympic year, and Coach Mike trained Elarbi for the steeplechase event. In May, Coach Mike and Elarbi went to Princeton University for its annual open invitational, and Elarbi opened his Spring season with an 8:27 to break the meet and stadium record, and qualify for the Barcelona Olympics. Off of that performance, he was named as Morocco’s only steeplechase entry in Barcelona. Over the next eight years, Elarbi was ranked in the top 10 worldwide several times and again made Morocco’s Olympic team in 2000.
Elarbi and his family moved back to the United States several years ago and he has been back with the Westchester Track Club for the last 5 years. He is a very loyal WTC member and recently has been working closely with Coach Mike to bring four very high level Moroccan distance runners to the United States, two of whom are former Olympians. These runners will be part of our elite group.
We have a WTC club banner! 