Zohra Ouaziz

Although she only participated in one round of the women’s 5,000 m event at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Moroccan Zohra Ouaziz had a long and successful career as an international track athlete across several distances. Inspired by her countrywoman Nawal El-Moutawakel’s performance at the 1984 Summer Games, Ouaziz opted to train as an endurance runner and made her début on the world stage in 1993. She began to capture attention with a gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 1994 Jeux de Francophonie and bronze in the 5,000 m at the 1995 World Championships. After her Olympic appearance, she further distinguished herself with a second place finish at the World Cross Country Championships and a gold medal in the 3,000 m event at the African Championships in 1998. Yet it was 1999 that ended up being her most successful year, for she won the Cross Internacional de Itálica and earned silver medals in the 3,000 m event at the World Indoor Championships and the 5,000 m event at the World Championships. After a final silver medal at the 2000 World Cross Country Championships, her career wound down as she suffered from recurring problems with her Achilles tendon, and she retired in 2004 to help work on youth development in athletics. At various points in her career during the 1990s, she held African records for 3,000 and 5,000 metres and was ranked among the top 10 in the world at the latter distance: 7th in 1995, 8th in 1997, 1st in 1998, and 2nd in 1999 in the year-end rankings.

Personal Best: 5000 – 14:32.08 (1998).