By Duncan Mackay

Abderrahim El GoumriJanuary 19 - Morocco's Abderrahim El Goumri, the runner-up in the 2007 London Marathon, was killed in a traffic accident this morning, which also involved Rashid Ramzi.


Ramzi won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing representing Bahrain but was stripped of his title after testing positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Youssef Baba, the 2000 African 1500m champion, was also a passenger in the car. 

Both Ramzi and Baba were treated in hospital following the accident but were later allowed to leave. 

The three were travelling between Temara and Rabat when the incident happened.

El Goumri had finished second to Martin Lel on his debut in the marathon at London in 2007 and also finished second behind the Kenyan in New York City later that year.

El Goumri came third at London in 2008, running a Moroccan record of 2 hours 5min 30sec.

He failed to make much impression at Beijing 2008, fading to 20th, but bounced back to finish second in the 2008 New York City and 2009 Chicago Marathons.

El Goumri won the Seoul Marathon in 2011 but missed London 2012 after he was banned a few weeks before the Olympics opened because of abnormal blood values in his "biological passport".

He was facing a four year ban when he was killed at the age of 36.

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