His first major tournament on track was 1991 World Championships where he at first won a bronze in 10,000 m and then finished sixth at the 5000 m run. This was a disappointing outcome for Skah as, earlier in the season, he had won the 10000 m race in Oslo against a very strong field and had emerged as one of the favourites for the finals in Tokyo. However, for the 10 000 m final Richard Chelimo and the eventual world champion, Moses Tanui, employed some very elaborate tactics and worked as a team. By the time of the 5000 m final Skah was probably tired. Yobes Ondieki of Kenya, who won the gold medal in the 5000 m, had expected Skah to be his major rival.
1992 Olympics
The following year, at the Barcelona Olympics, Skah met Chelimo again. With three laps remaining in the 10,000 m final, the two athletes were clear and battling for the gold medal. At this point the pair came to lap another Moroccan athlete, Hammou Boutayeb, who stayed with the leaders even after being lapped. The rules state that a lapped runner cannot "assist" another runner but, although Boutayeb's actions were interpreted as unsportsmanlike by the crowd, it was not certain that there was any collusion, that Skah gained any advantage, or that Chelimo was disadvantaged. These events incensed the Spanish crowd, and the Swedish track judge Carl-Gustav Tollemar attempted to stop Boutayeb. During the final 150 m Skah sprinted away from Chelimo to win the race and was disqualified, making Chelimo the Olympic champion. However, the Moroccans appealed the disqualification and Skah was reinstated as Olympic champion the next morning, because the rule under which he was disqualified did not define a penalty.
Skah married Norwegianinterior designer Anne Cecilie Hopstock after his Barcelona triumph, and they have two children. The marriage ended in divorce after the family relocated to Morocco in 2006. Skah lost a custody battle with his former wife in Norwegian courts, two years later, yet failed to return the children. He was indicted on kidnapping, threats, and domestic disturbance charges in Norway. By 2009, Norwegian authorities had not managed to serve Skah with the verdict. Under Norwegian law both parties must be served with the verdict, before it can be enforced, or appealed. The two children of Skah and Hopstock fled Morocco in July 2009. The Norwegian embassy's alleged improper sheltering of the dual-citizenship children during their escape led to a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. Skah issued a reward and filed for custody in Morocco. The former track champion maintained his innocence, claiming the children were abducted and that armed Norwegian commandos intruded into his home. Hopstock later confirmed she had hired off-duty naval rangers to help her sail her children out of Moroccan waters. In 2013 media said that "Bolle and one of the other men still were working in the Norwegian Armed Forces at the time , but no disciplinary action was leveled at them". On 19 June 2013, Skah was arrested at Orly Airport in Paris On 21 June he was released and ordered not to leave Paris until further notice. In April 2014 a French court refused a Norwegian extradition request on the grounds that the diplomatic dispute between Morocco and Norway would mean he would not get a fair trial there.
