Anglo-Italian middle-distance man has loved an eventful athletics journey with relentless and spectacular enhancements alongside the best way
When Ossama Meslek toes the road within the Olympic 1500m semi-finals on Sunday (Aug 4) in Paris, it is going to be the newest chapter in a exceptional story for the British-based Italian athlete.
The 27-year-old lived in three completely different nations rising up and speaks 4 languages. With athletics it was not precisely love at first sight – ending nicely down the sphere in West Yorkshire Cross Nation League races as a teenager – however he continued and is now a tantalising three-and-a-half minutes away from reaching the Olympic ultimate.
After being baulked within the closing phases in his first spherical warmth in Paris on Friday, he jogged in final in 3:39.96. “I misplaced all my momentum,” he defined, “so determined to run in and save my power for the repechage.”
Within the repechage on Saturday he completed strongly to run 3:35.32 in third place as Eire’s Cathal Doyle received the race in 3:34.92 from Azzedine Habz of France, who clocked 3:35.10, with all three males securing qualification for the semi-finals.
“I used to be a bit towards it however now I prefer it!” mentioned Meslek on the repechage. “I believe you simply must take it on the chin. It’s the identical for everyone and there’s no level worrying about it.”
Ossama Meslek (Getty)
Meslek was born in Vicenza, Italy, in January 1997 however he moved to Morocco on the age of three and lived in Casablanca for seven years.
After that his household moved to Leeds and he went straight into an English-speaking college with no capability to talk English to start with. He’s a quick learner, although, and now speaks Italian, Arabic, French and English, the latter fluently with a Yorkshire accent besides.
Aged 15 he joined Leeds Metropolis AC however packed it in after some humbling experiences in native races. Two years later he returned, this time as a sprinter. He wasn’t born to dash, nevertheless, and shortly after he joined coach Phil Townsend’s group and his middle-distance working instances started to tumble.
On the English Colleges Championships in 2015 he confirmed additional promise by ending sixth within the 1500m. After this, his development continued. After beginning a mechanical engineering diploma at Huddersfield College, as an example, he went on to complete eighth within the 2019 European under-23 1500m ultimate representing Italy.
Meslek signed with Forte Sports activities Administration and started learning at Loughborough in 2021. Remarkably, he then determined to self-fund his athletics, shopping for and promoting second-hand automobiles after fixing them up in his mother and father’ driveway.
He additionally started to be coached by Matt Yates – and the 1992 Olympian and former world 1500m finalist is in Paris watching his athlete compete this weekend.
Ossama Meslek (Mark Shearman)
The athletics successes continued. In 2022 he ran an Italian 1500m document of three:36.04 and made groups for the World Indoors and European Championships. In 2023 he was disenchanted to overlook out on the World Championships in Budapest however he signed a sponsorship take care of Hoka and improved his nationwide document to three:33.92.
Earlier this summer time he received the principle race on the Bannister Miles anniversary occasion in Oxford in 3:56.15 and was congratulated by Hicham El Guerrouj, the Moroccan who holds the world 1500m and mile information.
Ossama Meslek and Hicham El Guerrouj (Will Palmer)
“He came to visit to me and tried to talk to me in English and I assumed ‘why are you speaking to me in English?’” says Meslek. “So as a substitute we ended up having an amazing chat in Arabic.”
He added: “One in all my clearest recollections is watching El Guerrouj run within the Olympics in my grandad’s café in Morocco and it was wonderful.”
Ossama Meslek (Will Palmer)
On Sunday evening he traces up in his Olympic semi-final with Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, Neil Gourley of Britain, Narve Gilje Nordas of Norway, Hobbs Kessler and Yared Nuguse of the USA amongst others with solely the primary six males assured of creating the ultimate.
READ MORE: Repechage pleasure for George Mills
The opposite semi-final, in the meantime, sees Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway rubbing shoulders with Britain’s world champion Josh Kerr plus Brit George Mills and US champion Cole Hocker.
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