Rabat – Moroccan runner Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi expressed her happiness at winning a bronze medal in the marathon race at the World Athletics Championships held in Budapest, and dedicated her achievement to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.
Gardadi said that winning a bronze medal is a dream come true, noting that the coronation did not come out of nowhere, but rather as a result of many years of hard training and diligence.
The Moroccan athlete covered a distance of more than 42 kilometers in the marathon in a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 17 seconds.
Gardadi finished third behind Amane Beriso Shankule from Ethiopia, the world champion who recorded a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 23 seconds.Fellow Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase finished second with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 34 seconds.
In an interview with Arryadia, the 31-year-old athlete talked about her plan for the race, saying that she and her coach agreed “not to follow what the Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes do,” explaining that “they are known for the constant change of rhythm.”
Gardadi added that sticking to that plan is what helped her win the medal.
After Soufiane El Bakkali’s gold at the 3,000m steeplechase race on August 22, this is the second medal won by a Moroccan athlete at the competition.
El Bakkali had clocked eight minutes, three seconds, and 53 milliseconds in the championship’s 19th edition.
Read also: How El Bakkali Battled to Clinch His Second World Championship Gold
