Hicham El Guerrouj

Morrocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj is a two-time Olympic champion, winning double gold at the 2004 Olympic Games and becoming the first man in 80 years to win both the 1500m and 5000m titles in the same Olympics, previously achieved only by the “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi in 1924. A three-time Olympian, he made his Olympic debut in Atlanta 1996, and won a 1500m silver medal in Sydney 2000.

Dominating his era, El Guerrouj is a four-time 1500m World champion, defending his 1997 title three consecutive times, and also winning two World silvers (1500m in 1995, 5000m in 2003). He was the“King of the Mile”. El Guerrouj’s first Olympic Games were in Atlanta in 1996 where he was favoured to challenge world champion Noureddine Morceli of Algeria, and was primed for a world record attempt. When he was moving into position in the 1500m final, however, he fell with 400m to go finishing a disappointing 12th. With redemption in his sights one month later, he became the first runner to defeat Morceli over 1500m in four years. Soon after, El Guerrouj began his assault on 1500m world dominance and won his four consecutive world titles (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003).

One of the greatest middle-distance runners of all-time, El Guerrouj also won three World Indoor titles, winning gold in the 1500m (1995, 1997) and 3000m (2001), a bronze medal in the 5000m at the 1992 World Junior Championships. He also set the 1500m world record of 3:36.00 in 1998. El Guerrouj was named IAAF World Athlete of the Year three times after remaining unbeaten in more than 20 races, becoming the first man to win the award in consecutive years (2001, 2002, 2003). In 2003, he was elected as a member of the IAAF Athletes Committee, and was an athlete member on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2004-2012.

Personal Bests: 1500 – 3:26.00 (1998); 5000 – 12:50.24 (2003).