Hicham El Guerrouj
Moroccan middle-distance legend and Olympic double gold medalist.
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El Guerrouj was inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame in November 2014.[1][2] El Guerrouj earned gold medals in the 1500 m at four successive World Athletics Championships: those held in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003.[1]
Key facts and history
He initially pursued soccer and basketball before a local coach recognized his talent at age 13.[3][4] In 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics, he fell with 400 m to go in the 1500 m final and finished last.[5] At the Sydney Olympics, he finished second in the 1500 m behind Noah Ngeny.[6] At the 2004 Athens Olympics, El Guerrouj won gold in the 1500 m and also won the 5000 m final.[7][8]
He announced his retirement on May 22, 2006.[9] El Guerrouj was born on 14 September 1974 in Berkane, and his family were farmers.[10][3] During 1998 in Rome, El Guerrouj set a new 1500 m world record of 3:26.00, surpassing Morceli's previous mark of 3:27.37.[11] The following year, again in Rome, El Guerrouj set the mile world record at 3:43.13.[12]
What the cited sources add
The Runner's Tribe account states that El Guerrouj established the Hicham El Guerrouj Foundation to support young Moroccan athletes.[4] The IAAF Hall of Fame announcement confirms his induction among twelve legends in 2014.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "All-time men's best 1500 m", IAAF; "All-time best one mile men", IAAF; "IAAF: Twelve athletics legends inducted into IAAF Hall of Fame", iaaf.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "IAAF: Twelve athletics legends inducted into IAAF Hall of Fame", iaaf.org. facts only, no text reused. iaaf.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Admin, "Hicham El Guerrouj Journey to Middle-Distance Greatness", Runner's Tribe, 2023-05-27; "A decade after retirement, El Guerrouj still has Midas touch in inspiring future generation FEATURE World Athletics", worldathletics.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Admin, "Hicham El Guerrouj Journey to Middle-Distance Greatness", Runner's Tribe, 2023-05-27. facts only, no text reused. runnerstribe.com
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Atlanta Olympics 1996 - Men's 1500m", 14 November 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 2000 Sydney Olympics YouTube video: Men's 1500m; El Guerrouj, a picture of despair, The Guardian, 30 Sep 2000; Noah Ngeny - Kenya - Olympic gold at 1500 metres, sporting-heroes.net (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 2004 Athens Olympics YouTube video: Men's 1500m final (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 2004 Athens Olympics YouTube video: Men's 5000m final (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: El Guerrouj retires from track - cbc.ca; King of Middle Distance, Hicham El Guerrouj retires - IAAF (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hicham EL GUERROUJ Profile World Athletics", worldathletics.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: YouTube video: Hicham El Guerrouj sets a new world record at 1500m in 1998; "IAAF: 60 Metres", iaaf.org; ; "Pace Calculator", www.calculator.net (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hicham El Guerrouj" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "One Mile - men - senior - all", worldathletics.org; YouTube video: Hicham El Guerrouj sets a world record in the mile in 1999; "Josh Kerr breaks Hicham El Guerrouj’s mile record, clocking 2:42.66 in London", athletics illustrated, 18 July 2026 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hicham El Guerrouj (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Hicham El Guerrouj (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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