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Casablanca — Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan presided over the 17th Mohammed VI International Athletics Meeting on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat, as Morocco hosted the third stop of the 2026 Diamond League season.
The event is one of the major competitions on the World Athletics calendar and brought together some of the biggest names in global track and field. The meeting was broadcast live on 150 television channels worldwide.
Moroccan star Soufiane El Bakkali was among the standout performers of the day. The Olympic champion won the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 7 minutes 57.25 seconds, setting the world’s best time of the year. He finished ahead of Germany’s Frederick Ruppert and Kenya’s Simon Kiprop Koech.
Upon his arrival at the Olympic Stadium, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan reviewed a Royal Guard detachment that rendered honors before greeting several officials. Among them were Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports Mohamed Saad Berrada, Moroccan National Olympic Committee President Faïçal Laraichi, Rabat-Salé-Kenitra regional governor Mohamed Yacoubi, Regional Council President Rachid El Abdi, Rabat Mayor Fatiha El Moudni, and Yacoub El Mansour district council president Abdelfattah El Aouni.
The Crown Prince also met Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation President Abdeslam Ahizoune, Diamond League Director Petr Stastny, and Mohammed VI International Meeting technical manager Jean Pierre Watelle.
He later took his place in the official stand where he attended the performance of the Moroccan national anthem and watched a balloon release marking the start of the competition. He then followed the various events throughout the evening, during which athletes set several new meeting records.
First launched on June 14, 2008, the Mohammed VI International Athletics Meeting forms part of the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation’s strategy to develop athletics in line with the High Directives of King Mohammed VI.
Supported by World Athletics and the Confederation of African Athletics, the event was part of the IAAF World Challenge circuit from 2010 to 2015 before being promoted to the Diamond League in 2016.
Morocco remains the only African country to host a Diamond League meeting. The 2026 circuit runs from May 16 to September 5 and includes 15 meetings across China, Morocco, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Qatar, France, the United States, Monaco, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Poland, and Belgium, where the season finals will take place on September 4 and 5.
The annual competition also contributes to Rabat’s international profile. The Moroccan capital was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012 and continues to welcome elite athletes from around the world through one of the country’s most prominent sporting events.
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