It is no surprise that footballer Hakim Ziyech and Taekwondo artist Fatima Zahra Abou Fares’ came out on top of SNRT journalists’ picks for top athletes this year.
Rabat – Moroccan journalists have picked footballer Hakim Ziyech and Taekwondo artist Fatima Zahra Abou Fares as the best Moroccan male and female athletes of 2018.
Forty Moroccan journalists in the National Broadcasting and Television Company’s (SNRT) sports section voted for their favorite Moroccan athletes of 2018 and released the results on Sunday.
Ajax Amsterdam’s Ziyech collected 88 points, surpassing Borussia Dortmund’s Achraf Hakimi, who obtained 31 points.
Read Also: Almountakhab Magazine Names Hakim Ziyech Golden Lion of 2018
Ziyech delivered an outstanding performance in 2018. He received many awards, including the “Dutch Footballer of the Year” and “Golden Lion of 2018.”
Hakimi was the first Moroccan to ever win the Champions League title. He delivered a solid performance in the World Cup with the Moroccan national football team.
Steeplechase runner Soufiane El Bakkali ranked third. El Bakkali is a world steeplechase champion. He won the men’s 3,000-meter Steeplechase Diamond League Monaco 2018 in under eight minutes at 7:58:15.
In the women’s section, Abou Fares, who offered Morocco its first gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, collected 103 points.
Moroccan middle-distance runner Rabab Arrafi finished second with 30 points. She finished first in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter races at the Mediterranean Games in Spain this year. Arrafi also finished first in the 1,500-meter race in the 2012 African Championships, the 2013 Arab Championships, and the 2013 Jeux de la Francophonie.
Taekwondo artist Safia Salih took third place, collecting 20 points. Salih won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.
