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Hicham El Guerrouj (, 1974 , Berkane , Morocco ) is a Moroccan Middle Distance Runner . He has set several World Record s, and is considered by some as the greatest middle-distance runner of all time, earning him the nickname "'''King of the Mile'''". He has now moved up to compete in Long Distance events. He said he wants to better Kenenisa Bekele's World Record of 12 min 37.35 s in the 5000 m. He is the world record holder for the (3:43.13) and 2,000 metres (4:44.79) and is the athlete with the best record in both events in the last decade. 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 5.000 metres junior World Championships in Seoul. He rose to international prominence in the mid-1990s with near-record times in the 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 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 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. By spring 2006, Hicham El Guerrouj is thinking to retire. {Link without Title} 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:
After winning the 5,000 metres medal, making history after Paavo Nurmi of Finland did the same in 1924, he said:
PERSONAL BESTS TITLES Note: All dates in DD.MM.YYYY format 1500 m Mile 2000 m 3000 m 5000 m OLYMPIC WINNERS EXTERNAL LINKS |
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