Hicham El Guerrouj 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. In November 2014 he was inducted into the
International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame.
Early career Born in Berkane, Hicham El Guerrouj's
first international triumph was at age 18, when he was third 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. 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, 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.
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. In the following years, El
Guerrouj became the only middle distance runner to win four consecutive world
titles in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. 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 with a time of 3:26.00.
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. 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.
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 of
gold or USD 1 million. He remains the only athlete to have won it three times
in a row. 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
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, narrowly defeating El Guerrouj at the
Weltklasse Zürich meet on August 6. On August 24, in the 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. 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. 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.
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, 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. 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,
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:
International competitions IAAF Grand Prix performances
1997 Stuttgart: 3:31.18 WR indoor 1500 m
Gand: 3:48.45 WR indoor mile 1998
Golden Gala: 3:26.00 WR 1500 m 1999
Golden Gala: 3:43.13 WR mile 1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final: 4:44.79 WR
2000 metres Other 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