Hicham El Guerrouj

Hicham El Guerrouj (Arabic: هشام الكروج) (born September 14, 1974, Berkane, Morocco) is a retired Moroccan middle distance runner. He is the world record holder for the 1,500 metres (3:26.00), the mile (3:43.13) and 2,000 metres (4:44.79), and has been nicknamed "King of the Mile". His favourite miler was Britain's Steve Cram whose 1985 world record over the distance he considered as the 'perfect mile'.

His sporting career is marked by various 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 best athlete of the year by the IAAF in 2001 and 2002 after remaining unbeaten in more than 20 races and thus becoming the first man to win athlete of the year titles in consecutive years since the award was created in 1988. Also, in 2002, he was chosen, together with the British athlete Paula Radcliffe, best athlete of the year by the prestigious athletics journal Track and Field News. In 2003, he was also top of the world athletics list and was elected as a member of the IAAF Athletes Committee.

On September 7, 2004, Hicham El Guerrouj was decorated with the "Cordon de Commandeur" by King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

History

Hicham El Guerrouj's first international triumph arrived in 1992, when he was third in the 5000 metres junior World Championships in Seoul. He rose to international prominence in the mid-1990s with near-record times in the 1500 meters and mile. At the age of only 20 he finished second over 1500 m at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg. In 1996, after setting a new personal best over 1500 m in 3:29.51 in Stockholm, he was considered one of the favourites for Olympic gold. However, at the 1996 Summer Olympics he collided with Algeria's Noureddine Morceli, who went on to win the gold medal. At the end of that season, El Guerrouj was the first runner to defeat Morceli over 1500 m for four years when the two met at a meeting in Milan.

In the following years, El Guerrouj became the only middle distance runner to win four consecutive world titles in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003.

At a meeting in Rome in 1998 El Guerrouj broke Morceli's 1500 m world record (3:27.37) and set a new one at 3:26.00. El Guerrouj broke the world record in the mile set by Noureddine Morceli in Rome on July 7, 1999, recording a remarkable 3:43.13 and just edging out Noah Ngeny of Kenya who recorded 3:43.40. Later in that season he set a new world record over 2000 m in Berlin at 4:44.79. He also ran the second fastest 3000 m ever when clocking 7:23.09 in Brussels in 1999. El Guerrouj came close to breaking his own 1500 m record in Brussels in 2001 with a time of 3:26.12. His personal best over 5000 m stands at 12:50.24 (Ostrava 2003).

At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, he finished second in the 1500 meters. He won the gold medal in both the 1500 meters and 5000 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, running a stunning 1:46 last 800 meters in the 1500 meters to outkick Bernard Lagat of Kenya. In the 5,000 m, El Guerrouj waited behind Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele until the home straightaway where he sprinted away for a 13:14 win. He became then the first man in 80 years to win both races in the same Olympics, after the "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi in 1924.

Hicham El Guerrouj also won 3 consecutive IAAF Golden League prizes in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He was the only middle distance athlete to achieve the win streak necessary to be entitled for a share of the jackpot of 50 kilos of gold (2000-2002) or USD 1 million (1998-1999, 2003-present). Indeed, he is the only athlete to have won it three times in a row.

On May 22, 2006, El Guerrouj announced his retirement. ^*

Winning the Olympics double

For the past decade, Hicham El Guerrouj had been seeking an Olympic gold medal. He collided with Algeria's Nourredine Morceli, who went to win the gold medal, at the last lap in Atlanta's 1500 m final before finishing 12th. Between Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, he lost only one race before he was outsprinted by Noah Ngeny of Kenya.

Justice for El Guerrouj had to be made in Athens 2004. He ended eight years of agony as he won the elusive Olympic men's 1,500 and 5,000 metres gold medals. The 1500 race was especially remarkable in that El Guerrouj was caught and passed in the final straightaway, something that runners almost never recover from, but he was able to summon up an extra reserve and re-pass for the victory.

After winning the 1,500 metres medal, he said:

"Its amazing to think that in Sydney I was crying tears of sadness and here I am crying tears of joy. I'm like a five year-old with a toy."

"I felt Lagat coming again and again. At one point I thought this was Sydney all over again. He kept coming back at me like an avalanche but when Lagat closed on me for the last time I just found that extra energy."

After winning the 5,000 metres medal, making history after Paavo Nurmi of Finland did the same in 1924, he said:

"Paavo Nurmi is a great legend. He is one of the athletes who marked history. He left his name at his point in time. Now, I’m able to put my name with his. He is from another time, a time when my grandfather was watching him. To stand alongside him now, how I can I express it? There are no words."

"Maybe I will defend my title at the World championships next year. This year my objective was to win both races at the Olympics in Athens, which is the birthplace of the sport and my ‘birthplace’ as an athlete. Next year I will move onto the next stage and try to break the 5000 m world record. Who knows? Maybe I will be there in 2008 after all, racing against Bekele again at the marathon."

Personal bests

Distance	Mark	Date	Location
800 m	1:47.18	1995-06-02
1,000 m	2:16.85	1999-07-12	Nice
1,500	3:26.00	1998-07-14	Rome
Mile	3:43.13	1999-07-07	Rome
2,000 m	4:44.79	1999-09-07	Berlin
3,000 m	7:23.09	1999-09-03	Brussels
5,000 m	12:50.24	2003-03-12	Ostrava

Titles

Note: All dates in DD.MM.YYYY format

1500 m

Competition	Ranking	Timing	Place	Date	Title
Olympic Games	1	3:34.18	Athens	24.08.2004	Gold medalist
World Championship	1	3:31.77	Paris	27.07.2003	World Champion
World Championship	1	3:30.68	Edmonton	05.08.2001	World Champion
Olympic Games	2	3:32.32	Sydney	29.09.2000	Silver medalist
World Championship	1	3:27.65	Seville	24.08.1999	World Champion
Grand Prix	1	3:26.00	Rome	14.07.1998	World recordman
World Championship	1	3:35.83	Athens	06.08.1997	World Champion
World Championship Indoor	1	3:35.31	Paris	08.03.1997	World Champion
Grand Prix	1	3:31.18	Stuttgart	02.02.1997	World recordman
World Championship	2	3:35.28	Gothenburg	13.08.1995	Silver medalist
World Championship Indoor	1	3:44.54	Barcelona	11.03.1995	World champion

Mile

Competition	Ranking	Timing	Place	Date	Title
Grand Prix	1	3:43.13	Rome	07.07.1999	World recordman
Grand Prix	1	3:48.45	Gand	12.02.1997	World recordman

2000 m

Competition	Ranking	Timing	Place	Date	Title
Grand Prix Final	1	4:44.79	Berlin	07.09.1999	World recordman

3000 m

Competition	Ranking	Timing	Place	Date	Title
World Championship Indoor	1	7:37.74	Lisbon	11.03.2001	World Champion

5000 m

Competition	Ranking	Timing	Place	Date	Title
Olympic Games	1	13:14.39	Athens	28.08.2004	Gold medalist
World Championship	2	12:52.83	Paris	31.08.2003	Silver medalist

External links

El Guerrouj diary at IAAF

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Hicham El Guerrouj

History

Winning the Olympics double

Personal bests

Titles

External links