The Moroccan athlete Soufiane El Bakkali was crowned Olympic champion in the 3000m steeplechase on Monday in Tokyo, thereby gifting Morocco its 7th Olympic gold medal, all of which have been won on the track.
After the gold medals taken home by Nawal El Moutawakel (400m hurdles in Los Angeles), Saïd Aouïta (5000m in Los Angeles), Brahim Boutayeb (10,000m in Seoul), Khalid Skah (10,000m in Barcelona) and the historic double of Hicham El Guerrouj (1500m and 5000m in Athens), Soufiane El Bakkali will return bearing precious metal, becoming the first Moroccan Olympic champion in the 3000m steeplechase.
In a time of 8 min 08 sec 90, El Bakkali outdid Ethiopian Lamecha Girma (8:10.38) and Kenyan Benjamin Kigen (8:11.45) to follow in the footsteps of Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto, absent from the Tokyo games. 4th and 5th place were also taken by African athletes.
El Bakkali thus put an end to Kenyan dominance over the distance, which has seen 11 Olympic titles since 1968, nine of which were consecutive from 1984 and included two Kenyan clean sweeps in 1992 and 2004.
For Soufiane El Bakkali, “Becoming an Olympic champion is not down to chance, but is the result of hard, focused and unrelenting work”, he also revealed that he had dreamed of winning the gold medal since his involvement in the Rio Olympics, aged 20. « In Rio, I finished the race just off the podium, so I asked myself: why couldn’t I one day be the Olympic champion? The dream of any high-level sportsperson”.
El Bakkali, who dedicated this victory to His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the people of Morocco, explained in a statement to the Moroccan media after the final that he was able to manage the fact “that the final was by no means easy, given the tough competition presented by a legion of Kenyan and Ethiopian runners in a race which remains the preserve of Kenyan athletes”.
“Today, I stepped right through the front door and into the history of the Olympic Games. Now it’s time to focus on my second Olympic challenge in Tokyo, which is the 1500m” he concluded.
El Bakkali took up athletics in 2008 at the age of 13. As a youngster he competed in the 1500 metres and 2000 metres steeplechase. His times were impressive and he reached the rank of junior athlete before his trainer redirected him to the 3000 metres steeplechase. Little by little he found his feet, to the point where he now feels at home in this discipline, which is clearly illustrated by the medals he has won and the performances he has produced.
5000m: Silver and bronze for Obiri and Tsegay
Elsewhere, Kenyan Hellen Obiri, double world champion over the distance, bagged a silver medal in the 5000m (14:38.36), while Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay (14:38.87) takes home the bronze.
Netherlands athlete Sifan Hassan, who unleashed her blistering pace during the closing stages (14:36.79), successfully completed the first step of what would be an incredible feat, an almost absurd triple of the 1500, 5000 and 10,000-metre races.
Nigerian Tobi Amusan (4th at the Doha World Championships) provided a fantastic performance in the 100m final, finishing in fourth place and stopping the clock at 12:60.
Mboma sets a new junior world record over 200m
Three African athletes booked their places in the 200m final, including Namibian Christine Mboma (18), who caused a sensation on Monday with the fastest time across all seven heats, covering the distance in a stunning time of 22:11, thereby setting a new junior world record (U20). She also eclipsed the previous fastest time set by American Sha'Carri Richardson in 2019 (22:17).
A few hours later, in the semi-finals, Christine Mboma broke her own record with a superb time of 21:97. She looks set to be among the genuine contenders for the Olympic title.
Also lining up in the 200m final will be a fellow prodigy, Namibian Beatrice Masilingi (22:40) and Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou (22:11).
South African Wayde Van Niekerk, world record holder and Olympic champion in 2016, was eliminated on Monday in the 400m semi-final, finishing fourth in his heat with a time of 45:14, whereas Botswanan Isaac Makwala (44:59) will contest the final.
As for the women’s 1500m, five African runners qualified for the semi-finals, those being Kenyans Winny Chebet (4:03.93), Faith Kipyegon (4:01.40), Ethiopians Freweyni Gebreezibeher (4:04.12) and Lemlem Hailu (4:05.49) and Ugandan Winnie Nanyondo (4:02.24).