Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Soufiane El Bakkali is a Moroccan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the champion in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Eugene World Championships.
El Bakkali made his senior debut at the 2014 African Athletics Championships, finishing tenth in the 3000 metre steeplechase. At the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, he also ran cross country and finished in 18th place as a youngster. After finishing fourth in the Herculis meeting in a personal best time of 8:14.41 minutes, he was chosen to represent Morocco at the 2016 Summer Olympics. El Bakkali furthered his personal best at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, clocking in at 8:14.35, and finished fourth. He earned the bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships after taking home the silver in 2017. El Bakkali triumphed in the 1,500-meter race on September 3, 2020, at the 14th International Marseille Athletics Meeting in France.
El Bakkali won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he qualified to represent Morocco. He therefore became the first sportsperson to win a gold medal in the event at the Olympics or World Championships since 1987 who was not born in Kenya. He won the Kip Keino Classic championship on September 18, 2021, in Nairobi, Kenya. He won the gold medal in the men’s 3000 m steeplechase with a time of 8:25.13 on July 18, 2022, at the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, becoming the world champion. Lamecha Girma and Conseslus Kipruto finished second and third, respectively. El Bakkali was named a candidate for the 2022 men’s World Athletics Athlete of the Year award on October 13, 2022.
