Rhadi Ben Abdesselam
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Rhadi Ben Abdesselam was a Moroccan long-distance runner. He competed at the 1960 Olympics in the marathon and 10,000 meters events.
Rhadi Ben Abdesselam (left) and Abebe Bikila at the 1960 Olympics
The 1960 Olympic marathon's lead pack, near the 10 km (6 mi) mark, with eventual winner Abebe Bikila (#11), following Ireland's Bertie Messitt (#58), Ben Abdesselam's teammate Bakir Benaïssa (wearing headband), Great Britain's Arthur Keily (#46), Belgium's Aurèle Vandendriessche (#36), and Ben Abdesselam (#185).
The men's marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, was held on Saturday September 10, 1960. There were 69 participants from 35 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been s
Rhadi Ben Abdesselam
…behind the winner, the Soviet Union's Pyotr Bolotnikov, who broke the Olympic record for the event. Just two days later, Ben Abdesselam started the marathon. The blazing pace that he set for the first 20 kilometers, running with the barefoot Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, provided the impetus for Bikila's eventual…
Left-right: Rhadi Ben Abdesselam, Abebe Bikila, Barry Magee