SUMMER GAMES SPOTLIGHT : BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS : HE DIDN’T WANT A HELPING HAND

Forgive Khalid Skah of Morocco if he’s feeling a little put upon. First, he wins the men’s 10,000 meters Monday night. Then he is disqualified when his teammate, Hammou Boutayeb, is judged to have blocked the progress of Richard Chelimo of Kenya and other runners.

That decision was reversed Tuesday morning, when replays made it clear, at least to the satisfaction of an appeals jury, that Boutayeb was acting on his own, without Skah’s knowledge.

When Skah walked into Montjuic Stadium Wednesday night for the medal ceremony, he was greeted with a cascade of boos and whistles. The more he smiled and waved as he walked to the podium, the louder the boos.

Someone dangled a sign from the upper sections: “Beat Injustice, Kenya, Keep Going.”

When Skah rose to the top level of the platform to receive his gold medal, the crowd erupted again. The Moroccan looked puzzled, then smiled and bowed to the crowd, his every movement echoed on a scoreboard screen.

The fans reserved their warmth for the silver medalist, Chelimo. The Kenyan smiled and waved.

The noisy protest continued, even through Morocco’s national anthem. After that, Skah held up the hands of the other two medalists and tried to pull them to the top level of the platform, to no avail.

The booing continued as Skah walked out of the stadium, kissing his medal.

Later, Skah again berated Boutayeb, whom he said was more of a hindrance than a help.

“When I wanted to go to the front,” he said, “I had to pass both Chelimo and Boutayeb (who was being lapped). During the final stages of the race, I told Boutayeb, ‘Go away, go away, don’t make problems for me.’ ”

Skah said he was disappointed by the crowd’s reaction.

“The people don’t understand the situation and about athletics in general,” he said. “I can’t help it. It’s not my fault.

“I am very happy. I deserve the medal. I ran in the heats. I ran every lap. I did not ride a scooter, I ran fairly.

“I dedicate this medal to my king, to all Moroccans and all the Arab people.”

This a daily roundup of Olympic-related items from reporters in Barcelona from the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and Baltimore Sun, all Times-Mirror newspapers.