Rabat – Moroccan star Soufiane El Bakkali won the World Leading Time of the year in the 3000-meter steeplechase during the Mohammed VI International Athletics Meeting, the fourth leg of the 2025 Diamond League.
El Bakkali, a double Olympic and World Champion, reached his newest milestone on Sunday at the annex Olympic Stadium of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat.
He clocked a time of 8 minutes 00.70 seconds to win the race and set the World Leading time of the year, finishing ahead of Germany’s Frederik Ruppert and Kenya’s Edmund Serem.
In a statement following the race, El Bakkali expressed his pride and happiness at winning the race in front of Moroccan fans and his mother.
He also commended the quality of the new track at Rabat’s Olympic stadium, describing it as “first-class.”
This will attract many world-class athletes to Morocco in the coming years, he said.
El Bakkali also thanked King Mohammed VI for prioritizing sports and the development of sports infrastructure across Morocco. He vowed to make Morocco proud as his next two races, including in Paris. The Paris race will serve as a training ground for his World Championship.
“I finished the race comfortably. I thank all the people and fans who supported and came to cheer on Soufiane El Bakkali,” he said.
In April, El Bakkali came second in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Diamond League in Xiamen in China.
In the Paris 224 Olympics, he successfully secured the gold medal in the men’s steeplechase, following his first Olympic gold at Tokyo in 2020.
He also claimed gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in 20223 and Eugene, as well as in the US in 2022.
