Moroccan athlete Soufiane El Bakkali was crowned world champion in the 3,000m steeplechase on Tuesday in the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, US.
The Moroccan Olympic champion brought Morocco its first medal in this year’s World Championships.
El Bakkali finished the race in 8 minutes 25 seconds and 13 milliseconds, surpassing Ethiopian Olympic runner-up Lamecha Girma (8:26.01) and Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto (8:27.92).
Girma and Kipruto had been his main rivals at the 2022 Doha Wanda Diamond League, where El Bakkali also won gold.
With his recent victory in the US, El Bakkali is making a strong return to international competitions.
Morocco has won 30 medals, including 10 gold, 12 silver, and 8 bronze, in the 17 previous World Championships in Athletics.
The 1999 edition in Seville was Morocco’s most successful competition, as it won five medals and placed 5th worldwide.
Now retired Moroccan middle-distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj and the long-distance runner Salah Hissou both won gold in the 1,500 m and 5,000 m respectively, while silver medals went to Nezha Bidouanein in the 400 m hurdles and Zahra Ouaaziz in the 5,000 m. Ali Ezzine took home bronze in the 3,000 m steeplechase.
In August 2021, Soufiane El Bakkali ended Kenya’s dominance over the men’s 3,000 m steeplechase at the Olympics, winning the gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
The 26-year-old became the first non-Kenyan to win the 3,000 m steeplechase’s Olympic gold since Poland’s Bronisław Malinowski won the title in Moscow in 1980.
“I dedicate this win to all Moroccan people”
The recent months have seen impressive performances by Moroccan athletes, such as yesterdays’ qualification by the women’s football team to the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) for the first time.
El Bakkali’s triumph prompted international media interest, with commentators and fans celebrating the Moroccan World champion’s success in becoming the first non-Kenyan to capture the gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase since 1991.
In a statement to the press, the 26-year-old expressed his immense joy for clinching the gold medal, before dedicating the win to his parents, the Moroccan people, and to King Mohammed VI “for his constant support of the sports sector and Moroccan athletes.”
Thanking Moroccans for their constant encouragement, he said, “I always hope to best represent the colors of Morocco.”
Born in 1996 in Fez, El Bakkali began his career at a young age. After finishing fourth at the 2014 Eugene Junior World Championships at the age of 18, he made his professional debut the same year at the African Championships in Morocco’s Marrakech, ranking third in the 3,000 m steeplechase.
The world champion has also competed in cross-country running and was 18th among juniors at the 2015 World Cross Country Championships.
After improving his personal best of 8.14.35 minutes, El Bakkali occupied the fourth place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
El Bakkali began earning his first medals at international events at the 2017 World Championship in London, where he placed second, before finishing first in the 2018 Mediterranean Games in Spain.
The Moroccan athlete’s recent victory was no surprise to Moroccans who have watched him rise to international prominence in the past years.
Soufiane El Bakkali repeatedly expressed interest in representing Morocco in international competitions.
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