Morocco steeplechase runner keeps gold, despite injuries
Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali kept his Olympic 3000m steeplechase title on August 7th to become just the third Arab to win double gold as world record holder.
El Bakkali timed 8min 06.05sec for victory with American Kenneth Rooks taking silver in 8:06.41 and Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot claiming bronze (8:06.47).
The 28-year-old mirrored the achievement of Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo, who won back-to-back steeplechases in 1932 and 1936.
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“I was suffering from an injury and I was able to overcome it,” said El Bakkali, who was able to break Ethiopian team tactics with the help of his own teammate Mohamed Tindouft.
“The race was not easy. There was an Ethiopian plan, and thank God my compatriot Tindouft helped me. I asked him during the race to do anything to help me, so he pushed himself towards the front and raised the pace to break the Ethiopian block.”
The Moroccan King expressed his warmest congratulations to El Bakkali for winning the title for the second consecutive time after the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Reuters/BBC/agencies
