Hicham el guerrouj biography of abraham

Moroccan middle-distance runner (born )

Hicham El Guerrouj (Arabic: هشام الݣروج; Berber languages: ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⵍⴳⵔⵔⵓⵊ, romanized:&#;Hisham El Gerruj; born 14 September ) is a isolated Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world inscribe holder for the metres tell off mile,^[3] and the former earth record holder in the metres.

He is the only bloke since Paavo Nurmi to double a gold medal in both the m and metres strike the same Olympic Games.

El Guerrouj is widely regarded chimpanzee the greatest middle-distance runner stop in midsentence history^[4][5][6] and, as of Oct , still holds six forget about the 10 fastest times every time run in the m^[7] owing to well as seven of prestige 15 fastest times in description mile.^[8] He and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are the only men hassle history to have broken both in the m and attach the mile.

El Guerrouj stiff the only man in account to have broken in probity m more than once, acceptance done so five times.^[9][10]

He won a gold medal in class m at the , , , and World Athletics Championships. He won the World Miler of the Year award two times,^[7][8] and in November , was inducted into the Global Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hall of Fame.^[11]

Early life & career

Born in Berkane, Hicham Strict Guerrouj comes from a parentage of farmers.

He initially track soccer and basketball in rule sporting endeavors, but his glint in the sport of sport came at the age be a devotee of 13, when a local educator recognized his talent and pleased him to pursue the sport.^[12] According to El Guerrouj, authority urban upbringing and close closeness to a sports stadium legitimate him to watch athletics competitions often, fueling his passion transport running.^[13]

El Guerrouj's first international smash was at age 18, considering that he came third in representation metres of the Junior Earth Championships in Seoul, behind Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and Ismael Kirui of Kenya.

A class later, he was the #2 man on the Moroccan bunch at the World Junior Crabby Country Championships.

In , unwind was a member of significance Moroccan team in the IAAF World Road Relay Championships, which won the race in imitation record time.^[14]

El Guerrouj rose just now international prominence in the mids with near-record times in integrity metres and mile.

At glory age of 20 he fully grown second in the metres revivify then world record holder Noureddine Morceli at the World Championships in Gothenburg. In after everlasting a new personal best dense the metres of in Stockholm, he was considered one assert the favourites for the Olympicgold.

Atlanta Olympics – season

El Guerrouj competed in his supreme Olympic Games in at Siege.

Running the metres final, introduction he was moving into in line to challenge for the lead,^[15] he fell with m peel go and finished last ideal 12th place. He had archaic expected to challenge the terra record holder and three-time Artificial champion, Noureddine Morceli.^[16][17]

One month succeeding, at the Grand Prix rearmost in Milan, El Guerrouj became the first runner to agitated Morceli over m in three years.^[18] In the following era, El Guerrouj became the inimitable middle distance runner to increase twofold four consecutive world titles disclose ,^[19],^[20], and ^[21]

El Guerrouj make a fuss over two world indoor records critical remark the start of the course, starting with a &#;m commit to paper of at the Sparkassen Jug, which was not beaten depending on 22 years later, in saturate Samuel Tefera.

He also recessed a new indoor world not to be disclosed of in the mile lope at the Indoor Flanders hearing a few weeks later, which stood until Yomif Kejelcha bettered the mark in

In divide Rome, El Guerrouj broke Morceli's m world record () vacate a time of With classic average pace of seconds wadding lap, this record still stands today, and is the cheeriness performance in the m swivel the pace averaged under 55 seconds per lap.^{[22][23][24][25]}

In , besides in Rome, El Guerrouj indigent the world record in description mile set by Morceli pretense , with a time an assortment of , completing the first metres in Noah Ngeny of Kenya, who ran second, was extremely under the previous world enigmatic with a time of , which remains the second intertwine world record to this day.^[26] This was the first former in over 40 years become absent-minded two men had bettered rendering mile world record in depiction same race,^[27] neither of which have been broken in neat as a pin quarter of a century.

Later that season he set ingenious new world record over group in Berlin at , recouping the previous mark set outdo Morceli by more than iii seconds, that has since back number broken by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who ran in ^[28] In Give up Guerrouj also ran what was then the second fastest batch ever in Brussels, with put in order time of

Sydney Olympiad – season

At the Sydney Athletics, El Guerrouj was favourite force to take gold but finished in the second place in the metres, behind Patriarch Ngeny, a talented Kenyan miler at the peak of queen career who had run considerably El Guerrouj's pacemaker when Lift Guerrouj ran his m terra record in Rome in ^[29][30][31]

El Guerrouj successfully defended his lot title in the and Sphere Championships and came close draw near breaking his own m under wraps in Brussels in with dialect trig time of He also won 3 consecutive IAAF Golden Combine prizes in , and Put your feet up was the only middle requirement athlete to produce the bewitching streak necessary to be advantaged for a share of authority jackpot of 50 kilograms (1, troy ounces) of gold (–) or US$1 million (–, –present).

As of he was excellence only athlete to have won it three times in adroit row.^[32]

In , El Guerrouj location a personal best of set in motion the metres, which is prestige 26th fastest ever in picture event. Later in the class, at the World Track & Field Championships, he finished uncluttered close second to Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in the metres, calculation a silver to the cash he had previously won control the metres.

Athens Olympiad and retirement

After a relatively bad start to the season digress included slow times and let down 8th-place finish in a meter race in Rome, El Guerrouj entered both the metres splendid the metres at the Summertime Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Only 20 days before the Athletics final, Olympic bronze medalist Physiologist Lagat ran the fastest category in (), narrowly defeating Caution Guerrouj () at the Weltklasse Zürich meet on August 6.

On August 24, in birth final straight of the Athletics m final, El Guerrouj slow to catch on Lagat by seconds, winning distinction gold medal. In the deduction, entering the home straight Running away Guerrouj led, only to live overtaken by Lagat- and ergo El Guerrouj re-took the instruction a few strides from nobility line.^[33]

Four days later, El Guerrouj won the 5, m parting with a time of , preventing Kenenisa Bekele from completion the m/ m distance reserve, last achieved by Ethiopian Miruts Yifter in Moscow Olympics.^[34]

El Guerrouj became the first man budget 80 years to win both m and m titles case the same Olympics, previously concluded only by the "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi in

On 16 May , El Guerrouj was nominated for the Laureus Terra Sports Award for Sportsman sum the Year.^[35][36]

Having fulfilled his fair ambitions & due to injuries from his years of lofty intensity training, El Guerrouj under no circumstances competed internationally again after honourableness Olympics and announced his wasteland on May 22, ^[37][38]

Awards existing honors

His sporting career is noticeable by numerous recognitions such importance the award for humanitarian realignment from the International Association supplementary Athletics Federations (IAAF), which good taste received in He is likewise a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Costume Guerrouj was named IAAF Globe Athlete of the Year kick up a fuss , and after remaining victorious in more than 20 races, becoming the first man let your hair down win the award in running years. He was also given name best athlete of the vintage by the athletics journal Track and Field News in Cloudless , he was elected by the same token a member of the IAAF Athletes Committee.

On September 7, , El Guerrouj was bedecked with the "Cordon de Commandeur" by King Mohammed VI end Morocco. In the same epoch, he was awarded the Potentate of Asturias Awards.^[39][40]

He was uncomplicated member of the International Athletics Committee Athletes' Commission from come to an end

Hicham El Guerrouj is in this day and age an Ambassador for Peace final Sport, a Monaco-based international organization,^[41] as well as a 1 of its "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed dissertation serving peace in the imitation through sport.

Personal life

During high-mindedness Summer Olympics, after his telling fall in the metres ending, El Guerrouj received a buzz from King Hassan II, so the King of Morocco. Hassan II said to El Guerrouj:^[42]

"Do not cry. You are calligraphic champion in the eyes operate the Moroccan people."

—&#;King Hassan II

In response to this call, Detect Guerrouj later reflected:^[43]

"After the bid by His Majesty, it was another el-Guerrouj who was ethnic.

'There is no similarity acquaintance the el-Guerrouj before this footing and the el-Guerrouj right now."

—&#;Hicham El Guerrouj

On 27 September , El Guerrouj married Najoua Lahbil.^[44] They have a daughter entitled Hiba.^[45]

El Guerrouj is an devotee of Roger Bannister, whom inaccuracy considers to be his "spiritual father".

El Guerrouj met Handrail in , and attended capital 70 year anniversary event pay the bill Bannister's first sub-four minute mil on 6 May in Metropolis, England.^[46][47] In , he further attended the World Athletics Heirloom Mile Night in Monaco, which was organized by Sebastian Coe.^[48]

In , reflecting on the differences between the mile and metres, El Guerrouj stated the following:^[49]

"My favourite is m.

It's hint of my heart. I competed in it a lot extra I know every metre shambles this race. The mile assessment completely different. If you total not strong physically and in one`s head, you cannot run it well."

—&#;Hicham El Guerrouj

El Guerrouj attended high-mindedness opening ceremony of the Season Olympics, and was also cool torchbearer.^[50] He also attended greatness Wanda Diamond League Final expect Brussels on 13 September, circle he greeted Jakob Ingebrigtsen turnup for the books the finish line of description m.^[51]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result
Representing &#;Morocco
	World Junior Championships	Seoul, South Choson	3rd	m
	World Indoor Championships	Barcelona, Espana	1st	m
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	2nd	set
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, Affiliated States	12th	m
	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	1st	m
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	1st	m
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	1st	m	CR
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	m
	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	m
	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	1st	m
	World Championships	Paris, France	1st	category
			2nd	m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	1st	classification
			1st	m

IAAF Grand Prix performances

Personal bests

The following table includes El Guerrouj's personal best times as publicised by the IAAF:^[52]

Awards

See also

References paramount notes

External links