Alain Mimoun, 92, an Algerian-born French distance runner who
won the 1956 Olympic marathon after losing three Olympic races
to Czech great Emil Zatopek, died Thursday. France's athletics
federation announced his death but did not provide other
details.  Mimoun won silver in the 10,000-meter race at the 1948
London Olympics and in the 5,000 and 10,000 at the 1952 Helsinki
Games — narrowly missing the Olympic gold medal each time to
Zatopek. Reporters called Mimoun "the little shadow."  For the
1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, Mimoun switched to the
marathon from shorter-distance races. In his first try at the
26-mile, 385-yard event, he ran with the lead pack until pulling
ahead about halfway through the race.  After crossing the finish
line, he waited for Zatopek, who came in sixth. The men embraced
and Mimoun later said, "That was better than the medal."  He was
born in 1921 in French Algeria and served in the French Army
with the Allied forces during World War II. He was wounded
during the Battle of Mon