Achraf Tadili broke Freddie Williams' 10-year-old Canadian record last year in a gold medal performance at the Pan Am Games clocking 1:45.05. Tadili and Gary Reed provide Canada with a solid 1-2 punch in the men's 800-metre event.
Tadili was inspired to run after watching superstar Hicham el Guerrouj of his native Morocco at the 1997 World Championships. He received an invitation from the Morrocan National Team to train but in 1998 his family decided to move to Canada. It was with the Montreal Olympique Club that Tadili really blossomed. He represented Canada for the first time in 1999 at the Pan Am Junior Championships and won the bronze medal. A few weeks later he won the Canadian junior 800 title.
He became a Canadian citizen in February 2002 and is studying movie programming in Montreal.
