Tokyo 2020: Soufiane El Bakkali wins Morocco’s only gold medal

Sandra Sanchez Jaime from Spain is the first ever Olympic champion in karate
August 7, 2021
Tokyo 2020: Gold for the French handball and volleyball teams
August 8, 2021

The Moroccan won the final of the 3,000 m steeplechase in Tokyo with a time of 8: 08.90 ahead of the Ethiopian Lamecha Girma (08: 10.38) and the Kenyan Benjamin Kigen (08: 11.45).

After qualifying for the final, the athlete was among the favorites of the final. His performance is a great revenge for him who had narrowly failed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. El Bakkali had, in fact, finished 4th in the final behind the Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto, the American Evan Jager and the French Mahieddine Mekhissi-Benabbad .

In Tokyo, Bakkali won the 7th Olympic title in the history of Morocco, all obtained in athletics and the last two had been signed by legend Hicham El Guerrouj on 1,500 and 5,000 in Athens in 2004.