Morocco has won its first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics as runner Soufiane El Bakkali brings home gold at the 3,000m steeplechase.
Photo: Instagram.com
On Wednesday, Moroccan athlete Soufiane El Bakkali made history by winning the 3,000m steeplechase event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics champion is now the third Arab to win double gold and the first man to defend an Olympic title in the event since 1936. The star athlete had tough competition with Ethiopian rival Lamecha Girma. However, the world record holder suffered a fall as the duo crossed the third-to-last barrier, and was stretchered off the track in a neck brace. El Bakkali won the race with a time of eight minutes and 6.05 seconds, similar to that of Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo, who also won double gold at steeplechase events in 1932 and 1936.
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With this feat, El Bakkali joins fellow Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj, who won 1500m and 5,000m gold in Athens 2004, and Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli, who aced 1500m freestyle in Beijing 2008 and 10km marathon in London 2012. The win also adds to El Bakkali’s long list of achievements, which includes holding two gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in 2022 and 2023, a third-place finish at the 2019 African Games, second place at the 2018 African Championships, and fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The athlete’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics win was equally momentous, as El Bakkali broke a streak of wins, becoming the first non-Kenyan to win the steeplechase event since Poland’s Bronislaw Malinowski at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
After his win, El Bakkali was seen celebrating with the Moroccan flag held up behind him. With his win marking the first for Morocco at this year’s Olympics, it is safe to say that more victories are on the way.
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