His first major competition for Spain was the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he reached the final of the men's 5000 metres race, taking eleventh place. After a win at the Cross de Atapuerca, he also performed well at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships, finishing in seventh and leading the Spanish team to the gold with the help of Ayad Lamdassem. At the end of the year he won the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños, finishing ahead of Lamdassem and Kidane Tadese.