"Saïd Aouita also brought home the gold in the 5000m men's marathon. Moroccan talent continued to emerge as athletic sensation Hicham El Guerrouj returned from the 2004 Athens Olympics with two gold medals in the 1500m and 5000m races. Morocco is second to Egypt with 19 Olympic medals. Four African and four Asian members of the Arab League have qualified to the FIFA World Cup. Morocco advanced to round of 16 in 1986, Saudi Arabia in 1994, and Algeria in 2014. Neither team has reached quarter-finals. The Union of Arab Football Associations, established in 1974, organizes the Arab Nations Cup"
"Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj (Moroccan Arabic: , ""Hishāmu l-Karrūj""; Berber: Hicam El Gerruj, ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⴻⵍ ⴳⴻⵔⵔⵓⵊ; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record holder in the 1500 meters, mile and outdoor 2000 meters events. He is also the only man since Paavo Nurmi to take a gold medal in both the 1500 metres and 5000 metres at the same Olympic Games. El Guerrouj holds 7 of the fastest 9 times ever run in the 1500 meters and 7 of the 10 fastest in the mile. Given these achievements,"
"a six-month ban for methylhexanamine. Lahbabi was a double medallist at the 2013 Mediterranean Games, taking 5000 m bronze and a 10,000 metres silver medal. He won his national championship in the 5000 m and was selected for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, where he ran in the heats only. He won the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon in 2014 with a significant personal best of 59:25 minutes – a Moroccan record and the fastest by a non-East African runner. Aziz Lahbabi Aziz Lahbabi (born 3 February 1991, in Khenifra) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he"
"Abdelaziz El Idrissi Abdelaziz Ennaji El-Idrissi (; born 8 December 1986, in Ouled Mrah, Souss-Massa) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. He set his personal best time of 13:06.81 in the men's 5,000 metres at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. El Idrissi represented Morocco at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed for the men's 5,000 metres. He ran in the third heat against fourteen other athletes, including United States' Bernard Lagat, and Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, both of whom were heavy favorites in this event. He finished the race in eleventh place by six seconds behind"
"Rababe Arafi Rababe Arafi (, born 12 January 1991) is a middle-distance runner from Morocco, who specialises in the 1500 metres. Born in Khouribga, she is a three-time medallist at the African Championships in Athletics, having been continental champion in 2012 with a championship record run of 4:05.80 minutes. She holds the Moroccan national record in the mile run. Her personal best for the 1500 m is 4:01.75 minutes, set in 2017. Arafi was part of Morocco's team for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was a 1500 m finalist. She represented Morocco at the World Championships in Athletics in 2013,"
"1983 in Lausanne. Mohamed Zahafi Mohamed Zahafi (born 1959) is a Moroccan middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. In 1983 he won bronze medals in both 800 and 1500 metres at the Maghreb Championships. Both races were won by Saïd Aouita. In the same year Zahafi competed at the 1983 World Championships, but without reaching the final. He also finished fifth in the 1500 metres at the 1983 Mediterranean Games. He became Moroccan champion in the 800 metres in 1981, 1982 and 1983, and in the 1500 metres in 1983. His personal best time was 1.46.38 minutes,"
"14:00.76. Marofit, however, failed to advance into the final, as he placed thirtieth overall, and was ranked farther below four mandatory slots for the next round. Mourad Marofit Mourad Marofit (; born January 26, 1982 in Khemisset) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. He set his personal best time of 13:02.84, by winning the men's 5000 metres at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. Marofit represented Morocco at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed for the men's 5,000 metres. He ran in the second heat against thirteen other athletes, including Kenya's Edwin Cheruiyot Soi, who later"
"Amine, Abderrahim Goumri, Mohamed Saïd El Wardi). Jabbour benefited from the breadth in Moroccan running at the 1998 World Cross Country Championships, when he finished fifteenth in the short race and won a silver medal in the team competition. He also competed at the 1999 World Championships, but failed to reach the 5000 metres final. His personal best times were 7:35.92 minutes in the 3000 metres, achieved in July 1999 in Paris; 13:01.41 minutes in the 5000 metres, achieved in July 1999 in Saint-Denis; and 1.01:51 hours in the half marathon, achieved in September 1997 in Lille. Brahim Jabbour Brahim"
"sport business and coaching young athletes to one day be Olympic champions. Saïd Aouita Saïd Aouita (; born November 2, 1959) is a former Moroccan track and field athlete. He won the 5000 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, as well as the 3000 meters at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He is a former world record holder over 1500 metres (3:29.46), 2000 m (4:50.80), 3000 m (7:29.45), and twice at 5000 m (13:00.40 and 12:58.39). Aouita was one of the first globally known Arab sportspeople. He lives in Orlando, Florida. Saïd"
"Mourad Marofit Mourad Marofit (; born January 26, 1982 in Khemisset) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. He set his personal best time of 13:02.84, by winning the men's 5000 metres at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. Marofit represented Morocco at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed for the men's 5,000 metres. He ran in the second heat against thirteen other athletes, including Kenya's Edwin Cheruiyot Soi, who later won the bronze medal in the final. He finished the race in eighth place by five seconds behind New Zealand's Adrian Blincoe, with a time of"
"Marathon, completing the race in a competition record time of 1:10:47. Asmae Leghzaoui Asmae Leghzaoui (born August 30, 1976 in Fes) is a Moroccan middle-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian for Morocco. In 1999, Leghzaoui made a running breakthrough by improving her 3000 metres personal best by a minute and breaking the World record for the 10K road race. She was seventh in the women's short race at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, leading the Moroccans to the bronze medal in the team competition. On the track, she ran in the 10,000 metres at the 1999 World"
"Saïd Aouita Saïd Aouita (; born November 2, 1959) is a former Moroccan track and field athlete. He won the 5000 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, as well as the 3000 meters at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He is a former world record holder over 1500 metres (3:29.46), 2000 m (4:50.80), 3000 m (7:29.45), and twice at 5000 m (13:00.40 and 12:58.39). Aouita was one of the first globally known Arab sportspeople. He lives in Orlando, Florida. Saïd Aouita was born on November 2, 1959 in Kenitra, a coastal Moroccan"
"February 2001 in Ghent. During that same meeting, he achieved the fastest time ever ran by a junior (= under 20) over two miles indoor, which is still a Moroccan record today. Hassan Mourhit Hassan Mourhit (born 2 January 1982) is a Moroccan-Belgian long-distance runner. He is the brother of another Moroccan-Belgian runner, Mohammed Mourhit. He changed nationality from Morocco to Belgium on 15 August 2003. Two weeks later he competed at the 5000 metres event at the 2003 World Championships, where he did not progress from his heat. His personal best time was 13:21.97 minutes, achieved on 2 August"
"3:35.78 minutes in the 1500 metres, achieved in July 1988 in Verona; 7:53.01 minutes in the 3000 metres, achieved in June 1990 in Reims; and 13:48.59 minutes in the 5000 metres, achieved in April 1991 in Palermo. Mustapha Lachaal Mustapha Lachaal (born 10 February 1964) is a retired Moroccan runner who saw success on continental level. He won two medals, silver in 800 and bronze in 1500 metres, at the inaugural 1984 Arab Junior Championships. In the 1500 metres he then finished eighth at the 1987 Mediterranean Games, won the bronze medals at the 1988 African Championships and 1989 Jeux"
"Jaouad Gharib Jaouad Gharib (, born 22 May 1972 in Khenifra) is a Moroccan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. Winner of the 2003 World Championships and 2005 World Championships over the distance, he is also notable because he only began running seriously at the age of twenty-two. His 2005 retention made him one of only two successive world championship marathon champions, after Abel Antón. He was the silver medallist in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Jaouad Gharib was born in Khenifra, Middle Atlas to Berber parents but he became an orphan. His favourite sport as a"
"Mohamed Zahafi Mohamed Zahafi (born 1959) is a Moroccan middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. In 1983 he won bronze medals in both 800 and 1500 metres at the Maghreb Championships. Both races were won by Saïd Aouita. In the same year Zahafi competed at the 1983 World Championships, but without reaching the final. He also finished fifth in the 1500 metres at the 1983 Mediterranean Games. He became Moroccan champion in the 800 metres in 1981, 1982 and 1983, and in the 1500 metres in 1983. His personal best time was 1.46.38 minutes, achieved in June"
"Hamid Ezzine Hamid Ezzine (born 5 October 1983) is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is a younger brother of the Olympic runner Ali Ezzine. He finished twelfth in the 5000 metres at the 2002 World Junior Championships, but then turned to the steeplechase. He finished fourth at the 2004 African Championships, won the gold medal at the 2005 Jeux de la Francophonie, finished fifth at the 2006 African Championships and eleventh at the 2007 World Athletics Final. He also competed at the 2005 World Championships, the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Olympic"
"Rachid Ghanmouni Rachid Ghanmouni (born 1 January 1978) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. He was born in Rich, Rachidia. He finished thirteenth in the marathon race at the 2003 World Championships in a personal best time of 2:10:56 hours. He also competed at the 2004 Olympic Games, but did not finish. He finished 27th at the 2003 World Half Marathon Championships and 34th at the 2004 World Half Marathon Championships. His personal best times are 2:09:11 in the marathon, achieved in April 2006 in the Paris Marathon; and 1:01:36 hours in the half marathon, achieved in April 2003 in Safi."
"Abdellah Falil Abdellah Falil (; born 1976) is a Moroccan professional long-distance runner. He was selected for the national Olympic squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and finished 16th in the 10,000 metres final. He was a cross country runner earlier in his career and represented his country at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. His main focus became road running and he began to compete over the shorter road distances in 2006. At the 2006 Lille Half Marathon, he was runner-up behind Joseph Maregu by one second, setting a personal best run of 1:01:21. Falil took part in"
"Pan Arab Games. That year he also competed at the World Championships in Daegu, finishing 9th in the final. He reached the Olympic final in 2012, finishing in seventh place. At the 2013 World Championships, he again finished 9th. Hamid Ezzine Hamid Ezzine (born 5 October 1983) is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is a younger brother of the Olympic runner Ali Ezzine. He finished twelfth in the 5000 metres at the 2002 World Junior Championships, but then turned to the steeplechase. He finished fourth at the 2004 African Championships, won the gold"
"of Morocco in 1999. On the women's side, the first sub-5:00 mile was achieved by Britain's Diane Leather 23 days after Bannister's first sub-4:00 mile. However, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) did not recognize women's records for the distance until 1967, when Anne Smith of Britain ran 4:37.0. The current women's world record is 4:12.56 by Svetlana Masterkova of Russia, set on August 14, 1996. As there was no recognized official sanctioning body until 1912, there are several versions of the mile progression before that year. One version starts with Richard Webster (GBR) who ran 4:36.5 in 1865,"
"Abderrahim Goumri Abderrahim Goumri (; 21 May 1976 – 19 January 2013 in Temara, Morocco) was a Moroccan long-distance runner. He had competed in cross country, track, road running and marathon races. He spent the early part of his career in Norway and established himself with performances at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he helped his nation to team bronze medals at the 2002 and 2003 editions. He reached the 5000 metres track finals at the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2005 he ran a career best of 12:50.25 minutes for the distance to"
"Aziz Ouhadi Aziz Ouhadi (; born 24 July 1984 in Khemisset) is a Moroccan track and field athlete who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. His 100 m personal best of 10.09 seconds is the Moroccan national record. He was part of the Morocco team for the 2012 London Olympics. He represented his country at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships and 2012 World Indoor Championships and has won medals at the Jeux de la Francophonie and the Military World Games. He won his first national title in the 100 m in 2005. Having run a personal best"
"Aziz Lahbabi Aziz Lahbabi (born 3 February 1991, in Khenifra) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's 5000 metres, finishing 31st overall in Round 1, failing to qualify for the final. He won his first international medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, taking third place in the 5000 metres. He placed 13th at the senior race for the 2011 African Cross Country Championships, which was enough for a team bronze medal. He set a 5000 m best of 13:13.68 minutes that June, but was caught doping shortly afterwards, receiving"
"Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 in Rome, Italy averaged just under 55 seconds (or under 13.8 seconds per 100 metres). 1,500 metres is three and three-quarter laps around a 400-metre track. During the 1970s and 1980s this race was dominated by British runners, along with an occasional Finn, American, or New Zealander, but through the 1990s a large number of African runners began to take over in being the masters of this race, with runners from Kenya, Morocco, and Algeria winning the Olympic gold medals. In the Modern Olympic Games, the men's 1,500-metre race has been contested from"
"time of 2:10:15 hours. He was banned from competition for four years for irregularities in his biological passport with the ban set to end on 20 June 2020. In addition, all his results from 4 November 2011 onwards were annulled. Adil Annani Adil Annani, also known as Adil Ennani, (born 30 June 1980) is a male Moroccan long-distance runner. He has represented his country three times in the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics. He competed in the marathon event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, but did not finish. On the professional running circuit,"
"soreness again. I can't train hard and if you can't train at a certain level where you can be competitive it's not worth it to keep wasting time."" Khannouchi was the first marathoner to break 2:06:00. However, he lost the world record to Paul Tergat on September 28, 2003. Khalid Khannouchi Khalid Khannouchi () (born September 12, 1971) is a Moroccan American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km distance. He is one of only five men to break"
"Asmae Leghzaoui Asmae Leghzaoui (born August 30, 1976 in Fes) is a Moroccan middle-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian for Morocco. In 1999, Leghzaoui made a running breakthrough by improving her 3000 metres personal best by a minute and breaking the World record for the 10K road race. She was seventh in the women's short race at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, leading the Moroccans to the bronze medal in the team competition. On the track, she ran in the 10,000 metres at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics, but failed to finish the race. In 2000,"
"and the gold medal at the 1994 Jeux de la Francophonie. His personal best times were 1:43.50 minutes in the 800 metres, achieved in July 1998 in Rome; and 2:14.69 minutes in the 1000 metres, achieved in July 1995 in Nice. He was the world's best performer in the 1000 metres in both 1995 and 1998, and his 1000 metres time is also the current Moroccan record. Mahjoub Haïda Mahjoub Haïda (born 1 July 1970) is a retired Moroccan middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. He finished fifth at the 1995 World Indoor Championships, third at the"
"Championships. He has the fastest 5000m time for a runner from neither Kenya nor Ethiopia (12:49.28). In 1996 he was the winner of the inaugural Belgrade Race Through History competition. He beat Paul Tergat to the finish line of the 6 km race and remains the course record holder of the competition. Brahim Lahlafi Brahim Lahlafi () (born 15 April 1968, in Fes) is a retired long-distance runner who represented Morocco during his active career. He acquired French citizenship on 6 April 2002, but represented Morocco again from 15 March 2007. His greatest achievement was the Olympic bronze medal in"
"Hind Dehiba Hind Dehiba Chahyd (born 17 March 1979, Bejaâd, Morocco) is a Moroccan-French runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. Her first podium finish at the 2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships came with controversy. She took the bronze medal but impeded fourth-placed Helen Clitheroe in the final stages of the 1500 m. However, Clitheroe's appeal was not successful and Dehiba came away with her first European medal. At the age of 14, she ran 1500m in 4 min 21 s barefoot and 3000m in 9 min 26 s. She was subsequently selected by Said Aouita (DTN Moroccan at the"
"Meseret Defar Meseret Defar Tola (Amharic: መሰረት ደፋር; born 19 November 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time. In 2007 on a track in Brussels Belgium, she became the only woman, with a 2 mile run in less than 9 minutes (8:58:58 minutes). This"
"Abdelatif Chemlal Abdelatif Chemlal () (born 11 January 1982 in Khouribga) is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metre steeplechase. His personal best time is 8:21.00 minutes, achieved in June 2002 in Seville. He represented his country in the steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, running in the heats. He was the bronze medallist in the steeplechase at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He followed this up with another bronze at the African Junior Championships in Athletics the next year. In 2004 he won a continental medal on the senior stage, finishing behind David Chemweno"