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Rabat – The Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation (FRMA) announced that the first batch of 11 male and female runners will leave the country for Budapest to participate in the 16th edition of the World Championships.
Led by Olympic and world champion Soufiane El-Bakkali, Morocco is hoping to win major medals at the global showdown.
With the 2023 World Athletics Championships set to take place from August 19 to 27 in the Hungarian capital Budapest, the FRMA is counting on the world champion to rise to the podium and secure another medal for Morocco.
“Morocco is betting heavily on the champion Al-Baqali to win the gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, despite the strength of his Kenyan competitors,” media outlet Al-Araby stated. “At a time when the rest of the runners will try to do everything they can to occupy one of the first three places.”
Read also: El Bakkali: ‘I Dedicate This Win to All Moroccan People’
The Moroccan athlete is aware of the heavy responsibility laying on his shoulders, and Al-Araby quoted the highly regarded athlete as responding to such high expectations by noting that he knows “how to get rid of the pressures, given his experience in such world championships.”
El-Bakkali is no stranger to living up to expectations and proudly representing Morocco on the world stage. He won two gold medals in the 2022 US World Championships in Beijing and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Many global and Moroccan fans or admirers of the Fez-born champion still likely remember his history-making performances at the Tokyo Olympics, where he won the gold in the 3000m steeplechase to end Kenya’s reign over the 3000m category since 2008.
