Rabat – Moroccan steeplechase runner Soufiane El Bakkali came in third during the 3000m men’s steeplechase final at the IAAF World Athletics Championships on Friday.
With a time of 8:03:76, El Bakkali was close behind Keynan athlete Conseslus Kipruto and Ethiopian athlete Lamecha Girma, who came in first and second.
Despite only winning a bronze medal in this race, 23-year-old El Bakkali is ranked first in the world in the men’s 3000m steeplechase by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
El Bakkali made his senior debut as a steeplechase runner at the 2014 African Championships in Athletics, and represented Morocco at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He earned a silver medal in the 2017 World Championships in London.
On August 25, 2019, El Bakkali won the Paris Diamond League’s 3000m steeplechase despite an injured foot. He even beat Lamecha Girma, who came in second during yesterday’s championship race with a time of 8:01:36.
17 Moroccans participated in the World Athletic Championships in Doha, Qatar, but El Bakkali was the first to register his country’s name on the medal board on the eighth day of the competition.
