Mohamad Gammoudi

Mohamad Gammoudi is not only the first Tunisian Olympic medallist, he is also the country’s first Olympic champion and has won four of the nation’s seven Olympic medals through 2010. A distance runner, Gammoudi ran the 5 and 10 km at the 1964, and 1968 and 1972 Olympics. He won the 1968 5k, was runner-up in the 1964 10 km and the 1972 5,000 m, while earning a bronze medal in the 1968 10,000 m. Gammoudi also won the 1968 International Cross-Country meet, and won three military world titles in that discipline. At the 1963 and 1967 Mediterranean Games, he doubled in the 5 and 10 km on the track. He also won a slew of Maghreb Championships (11) and Tunisian Championships (18) in cross country running and distances between 1,500 m and 10,000 m. He trained in the military and, following his retirement from active competition, was promoted to the rank of officer and later served as a technical consultant and talent scout for the national Tunisian Athletics Union.

Personal Bests: 5000 – 13:27.33 (1972); 10000 – 27:54.69 (1972).