Hicham El Guerrouj

Hicham El Guerrouj

El Guerrouj in 2010
Personal information
Born	(1974-09-14) September 14, 1974 Berkane, Morocco
Sport
Country	Morocco
Sport	Track
Event(s)	1500 metres, 2000 metres, Mile
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	1500 metres: 3:26.00[1] (WR) Mile: 3:43.13[1] (WR)
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Morocco Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 1500 m Gold 2004 Athens 5000 m Silver 2000 Sydney 1500 m World Championships Gold 1997 Athens 1500 m Gold 1999 Sevilla 1500 m Gold 2001 Edmonton 1500 m Gold 2003 Paris 1500 m Silver 1995 Gothenburg 1500 m Silver 2003 Paris 5000 m World Indoor Championships Gold 1995 Barcelona 1500 m Gold 1997 Paris 1500 m Gold 2001 Lisbon 3000 m

Hicham El Guerrouj (Moroccan Arabic: هشام الكروج, Berber: Hicam El Gerruj, ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⴻⵍ ⴳⴻⵔⵔⵓⵊ; born 14 September 1974 in Berkan, Morocco) is a Moroccan former middle distance runner. He is the current holder of the 1500 metres, mile and outdoor 2000 metres world records, as well as a double Olympic gold medalist. From about 1995 until his retirement from serious competition following the 2004 Olympics, he was the dominant middle distance runner of his day. Often referred to as the "King of the Mile", many consider him to be the greatest middle distance runner of all time.

Early career

Hicham El Guerrouj's first international triumph was in 1992 at age 18, when he was 3rd in the 5000 metres of the 1992 Junior World Championships in Seoul, behind Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and Ismael Kirui of Kenya.

In 1994, he was a member of the Moroccan team in the 1994 IAAF World Road Relay Championships, which won the race in world record time.^[2][3]

El Guerrouj rose to international prominence in the mid-1990s with near-record times in the 1500 metres and mile. At the age of 20 he finished second in the 1500 metres to then world record holder Noureddine Morceli at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. In 1996 after setting a new personal best over 1500 metres in 3:29.59 in Stockholm, he was considered one of the favourites for the Olympic gold.

1996 Atlanta Olympics – 1999 season

El Guerrouj competed in his first Olympic Games in 1996 at Atlanta. Running the 1500 metres final, as he was moving into position to challenge for the lead,^[4] he fell with 400 m to go and finished last in 12th place. He had been expected to challenge the world record holder and three-time World champion, Noureddine Morceli.^[5][6]

One month later, at the Grand Prix final in Milan, El Guerrouj became the first runner to defeat Morceli over 1500 m in four years.^[7] In the following years, El Guerrouj became the only middle distance runner to win four consecutive world titles in 1997,^[8] 1999,^[9] 2001, and 2003.^[10]

El Guerrouj set two world indoor records at the start of the 1997 season, starting with a 1500 m record of 3:31.18 at the Sparkassen Cup and setting a new indoor best of 3:48.45 in the mile run at the Indoor Flanders meeting a few weeks later. In 1998 in Rome, El Guerrouj broke Morceli's 1500 m world record (3:27.37) with a time of 3:26.00.^[11][12][13]

In 1999, also in Rome, El Guerrouj broke the world record in the mile set by Noureddine Morceli in 1993, with a time of 3:43.13. Noah Ngeny of Kenya, who ran second, was also under the previous world record with a time of 3:43.40. This was the first time in over 40 years that two men had bettered the mile world record in the same race.^[14]

Later that season he set a new world record over 2000 m in Berlin at 4:44.79, bettering the previous mark set by Morceli by more than three seconds. He also ran the second fastest 3000 m ever in Brussels.

2000 Sydney Olympics – 2003 season

At the Sydney Olympics, El Guerrouj was favourite to take gold but finished second in the 1500 metres, behind Noah Ngeny, a talented Kenyan runner at the peak of his career who had run as El Guerrouj's pacemaker when El Guerrouj ran his 1500m world record in Rome in 1998.^{[15][16][17][18]}

El Guerrouj defended his 1500 m title in the 2001 and 2003 World Championships and came close to breaking his own 1500 m record in Brussels in 2001 with a time of 3:26.12. He also won 3 consecutive IAAF Golden League prizes in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He was the only middle distance athlete to produce the winning streak necessary to be entitled for a share of the jackpot of 50 kilograms (1,608 troy ounces) of gold (2000–2002) or USD 1 million (1998–1999, 2003–present). He remains the only athlete to have won it three times in a row.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, El Guerrouj set a personal best of 12:50.24 in the 5000 metres. Later in the year, at the World Track & Field Championships, he finished a close second to Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in the 5000 metres, adding a silver to the gold he had previously won in the 1500 metres.

2004 Athens Olympics and retirement

El Guerrouj and Carlos García at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens

After a relatively poor start to the 2004 season that included slow times and an 8th place finish in a 1500 metre race in Rome, El Guerrouj entered in both the 1500 metres and 5000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Only 20 days before the Olympic final, 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Bernard Lagat ran the fastest 1500 m in 2004 (3:27.40), narrowly defeating El Guerrouj (3:27.64) at the Weltklasse Zürich meet on August 6. On August 24 in final straight of the Olympic 1500m final El Guerrouj narrowly beat Lagat by 0.12 seconds, winning the gold medal. In a thrilling finale, entering the home straight El Guerrouj led, only to be overtaken by Lagat- and then El Guerrouj re-took the lead only a few strides from the line.^[19]

Four days later El Guerrouj won the 5,000 m final with a time of 13:14.39 preventing Kenenisa Bekele from achieving the 5000 m/10000 m distance double, last achieved by Ethiopian Miruts Yifter in 1980 Moscow Olympics.^[20]

El Guerrouj became the first man in 80 years to win both 1500m and 5000m titles in the same Olympics, previously achieved only by the "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi in 1924.

Having fulfilled his sporting ambitions El Guerrouj never competed internationally again, and announced his retirement on May 22, 2006.^[21][22]

Awards and honours

His sporting career is marked by numerous recognitions such as the award to humanitarian effort from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which he received in 1996. He is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. El Guerrouj was named IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2001, 2002 and 2003 after remaining unbeaten in more than 20 races, becoming the first man to win the award in consecutive years. He was also named best athlete of the year by the athletics journal Track and Field News in 2002. In 2003, he was elected as a member of the IAAF Athletes Committee.

On September 7, 2004, El Guerrouj was decorated with the "Cordon de Commandeur" by King Mohammed VI of Morocco. In the same year, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Awards.^[23]

He is a member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission.

Hicham El Guerrouj is today an Ambassador for Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization,^[24] as well as a member of its "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport.

Personal bests

The following table includes El Guerrouj's personal best times as published by the IAAF:^[1]

Titles and major results

(1500 metres unless indicated)

Others world records

Mile

2000 metres

See also

• World record progression for the mile run
• Fédération Royale Marocaine d’Athlétisme
• Saïd Aouita

References and notes

External links

• Video of Hicham El Guerrouj breaking the mile world record
• Hicham El Guerrouj profile at IAAF
• El Guerrouj diary at IAAF

Records
Preceded by Noureddine Morceli	Men's 1500 m World Record Holder July 14, 1998 —	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Noureddine Morceli	Men's Mile World Record Holder July 7, 1999 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie Virgilijus Alekna	Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1999 2001, 2002	Succeeded by Virgilijus Alekna Félix Sánchez
Preceded by Jan Železný	IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2001 — 2003	Succeeded by Kenenisa Bekele
Preceded by Michael Schumacher	L'Équipe Champion of Champions 2004	Succeeded by Roger Federer
Sporting positions
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie Benjamin Limo	Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance 1999 2003	Succeeded by Ali Saïdi-Sief Eliud Kipchoge
Preceded by Noureddine Morceli	Men's 1500 m Best Year Performance 1996 – 2003	Succeeded by Bernard Lagat