Mustapha Salmi, fund runner
With 35,000 subscribers on Instagram, Mustapha Salmi devotes all his time to his training in Rouen. With one goal: the Olympic Games.
Mustapha Salmi is a runner. In his line of sight, the 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris. At the age of 22, he trains with his father Mohamed, also an athlete, who ran the marathon in Barcelona in 1992, and who transmitted his vocation to him by taking him to the stadiums as a child.
Mustapha Salmi runs in Rouen, on the ASPTT athletics track at La Petite Bouverie, whatever the weather. At his side, there is Alice Seguin, French junior champion in the 800m. Mustapha the collective cheek: “It’s really a three-way project. »
The project ? Mustapha Salmi would like to compete in the same discipline. Not easy, you have to be one of the three best in your country. With a target time below 2 hours and ten minutes. Better than his father whose record is 2h12! To be able to convince, Mustapha must do enough time in 2023. He has until then to improve his performance.
Arrived from Algeria in Rouen at the age of 13, Mustapha Salmi first pole vaulted and played tennis, which he had started as a child. Before choosing running, at 17: “I am put to run correctly! » Since then, he has improved his times, with his eye on Paris 2024. For the moment, he is asserting himself over shorter distances. 14’18 at 5000m, 30’33 at 10,000m. For comparison, the French record is 27 min 17 s 29.
And he talks about his life and his training on Instagram. 35,000 subscribers follow him there. Not nothing. “Athletics is not publicized enoughhe explains. I just wanted to show what I do, and that it’s stylish. » Moreover, Mustapha has already convinced brands to support it. “When I started on Instagram, I started from the idea that instead of complaining that brands weren’t interested in me, I had to show them what I could bring them. I showed that you have to believe in me. I had a lot of rejection, but I’m starting to be well surrounded. I can live from my sport”specifies the athlete, has also become an influencer.
Mustapha Salmi has a clear idea of what he wants to do: “I’m not here to give advice: I show what I do, how I feel about things. I also show when I fail, I don’t hide morale drops. » An authenticity that touches users of social networks.