THE JESSE OWENS AWARDS: 2002
MALE AWARD WINNER
KHALID KHANNOUCHI

Khalid Khannouchi (Arabic: خالد خنّوشي) (born September 12, 1971) is a Moroccan American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco.

He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best
for the 20 km distance.

He is one of only five men to break the marathon world record more than once, and one of only four to break their own marathon world record. (The others are Jim Peters, Derek Clayton, and Haile Gebrselassie.)


Khalid fell out with the Moroccan athletics federation over training expenses and moved to Brooklyn, New York City in 1992 with three of his friends. He married American Sandra Inoa in 1996 who now coaches him and acts as his agent. They set up home in Ossining, New York. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 2, 2000.

As of 2013, Khalid holds the American record for the marathon, with a time of 2:05.38 at the London Marathon in 2002.
Khannouchi officially retired on March 27, 2012 due to recurring foot injuries since 2003. Khannouchi stated "It was really my feet that betrayed me. Every time I go and try to push hard, I get the pain and soreness again. I can't train hard and if you can't train at a certain level where you can be competitive it's not worth it to keep wasting time."
THE JESSE OWENS AWARDS: 2002
FEMALE AWARD WINNER
DEENA DROSSIN KASTOR
She won the Bronze medal in the Women's Marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
BELIEVE and ACHIEVE !!! Deena, the Distance Diva, heroically came from far behind and clawed her way to 3rd place for the Bronze Medal. The D.K. autograph that is part of this video montage was obtained by TheMotionDevotion's curator when Deena visited with and spoke to the marathon training group of the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) on July 23, 2005 before they stepped off for a run on the Chicago lakefront. Here's a photo of D.K. and her adoring fans at that CARA event: http://TheMotionDevotion.com/docs/dee... As explained during the Q&A portion of her CARA visit, not until entering the stadium did she realize that 3rd place and the Bronze Medal were hers. Having come from so far back, reeling in competitors one-by-one, she had no way of knowing how many more runners were ahead until the scoreboard in the stadium revealed that Deena Kastor was headed for the podium.
Here's Deena Kastor heroically holding off Constantina Tomescu-Dita to win
the 2005 Chicago Marathon.
She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances.
Carrie Tollefson interviews fellow Olympian Deena Kastor! They chat about her favorite racing memory, juggling training with motherhood, and Deena's upcoming appearance at the World Marathon Championships.
Awards and Rankings
Kastor was selected as the top women's marathoner in the world in 2006 by Track and Field News magazine.
Among the honors Kastor has received from the USATF are:
- 2003 Jesse Owens Award as the top female track and field athlete in the US
- USATF Runner of the Year in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2008
- C.C. Jackson Award in 2002, 2003 and 2004
- USATF Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2001 and 2003, and as a team member in 2002 when the US team finished second at the World Cross Country Championships 8 kilometer run
Deena Kastor chats with Carrie about her new US Women's Masters Marathon record, and her buildup to the US Olympic Marathon trials. They also discuss balancing life as an elite runner, coach and mom.
She was inducted into the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, and into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on April 29, 2007.
Awards and Rankings
Year |
Event |
World rank |
US rank |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | 5000 m | – | 9th |
1997 | 10,000 m | – | 4th |
1998 | 5000 m | – | 7th |
1999 | 5000 m | – | 2nd |
10,000 m | – | 1st | |
2000 | 5000 m | – | 4th |
3000 m | – | 4th | |
10,000 m | – | 1st | |
2001 | 5000 m | – | 4th |
3000 m | – | 3rd | |
Marathon | – | 1st | |
10,000 m | – | 1st | |
2002 | Marathon | – | 1st |
5000 m | – | 4th | |
10,000 m | – | 1st | |
3,000 m | – | 7th | |
2006 | Marathon | 1st | 1st |