Mounir Akbache

Athletics career Akbache's individual career started as early as 2006, and he raced at several French Athletics Championships with a best placing of 4th at the 2015 indoor edition in the 1500 metres. Despite national-level successes, he was not able to qualify for the highest level of international competition, so he became a pacemaker.

Pacing career Akbache paced his first world record at the 2023 Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, leading Lamecha Girma to break a 25-year-old record in the indoor 3000 metres. Speaking in French after the race, Akbache said, "I could feel that [Girma] was hyper-confident. He'd done some crazy sessions in training, he knew he had the world record in his legs".

Akbache is one of Jakob Ingebrigtsen's favorite pacemakers, helping Ingebrigtsen break the 2000 metres world record at the 2023 Memorial Van Damme. At the 2023 Bislett Games, Akbache paced Ingebrigtsen through the first lap in 55.47 seconds, leading Track & Field News to state "the pacing couldn't have been better". Ingebrigtsen would set a best of 3:27.95 in that race, a national record.

Personal life Akbache is a member of the athletics club in France.