Rabat – The Confederation of African Athletes (CAA) has announced Moroccan athlete Soufiane El Bakkali as the second-best male athlete of the year 2023.
The CAA said El Bakkali maintained his “impressive consistency” throughout the year and “remained undefeated in the five steeplechase finals he competed in.”
The federation recalled that the Moroccan champion improved his record this year to 7 minutes, 56 seconds, and 68 milliseconds.
He was only surpassed by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, the winner of the 2023 Berlin Marathon and the holder of the marathon world record.
Third place went to Burkinabe champion Hugues Fabrice Zango, who won his country’s first world championship title in Budapest after he won his first Olympic medal two years earlier.
El Bakkali has been making Moroccans proud throughout recent years with his triumphs in national and international competitions.
The Fez native had several victories this year, when he won the Budapest World Athletics Championships.
El Bakkali won a gold medal with a remarkable time of 8 minutes 3 seconds 53 milliseconds, outpacing Ethiopian athlete Lamecha Girma, who recorded a time of 08 minutes 5 seconds 44 milliseconds.
The 27-year-old has been unbeaten and continues to be the uncontested global number 1 in 3,000-meter steeplechase competitions.
In 2021, the Moroccan athlete also made history when he won the Olympic gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Tokyo, becoming the first Moroccan athlete to do so.
The CAA also selected Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon as the best female athlete of the year.
The athlete is a double world champion in the 1,500 and 5,000-meter categories and also holds the world records for the two races.
Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa came in second, while third position went to her compatriot Gudaf Tsegay.
