Morocco Sends 20 Athletes to Tokyo World Championships

Morocco will send 20 athletes, including 14 men and six women, to the 20th World Athletics Championships scheduled from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo, the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation (FRMA) announced Thursday.

Soufiane El Bakkali, a double Olympic and world champion, will headline the men’s team in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with teammates Mohamed Tindouft, Salaheddine Ben Yazide, and Faid El Mostafa. Anass Essayi, Fouad Messaoudi, and Hafid Rizqy will compete in the 1,500 meters. 

 Saad Hinti will take on the 400-meter hurdles. Abdarrahman El Assal and Abdelati El Guesse will run the 800 meters, and marathon runners Othmane El Goumri, Mohamed Reda El Aaraby, and Soufiyan Bouqantar will also represent Morocco.

On the women’s side, Bahiya El Arfaoui will compete in the 1,500 meters, with Assia Raziki and Soukaina Hajji in the 800 meters. Marathoners Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi, Rahma Tahiri, and Kaoutar Farkoussi complete the women’s lineup.

Morocco has earned 33 medals at past World Championships—12 gold, 12 silver, and nine bronze. The nation missed the podium only in four editions: Stuttgart 1993, Berlin 2009, Daegu 2011, and Moscow 2013. 

The 1999 Seville championships remain Morocco’s most successful campaign, with five medals, including gold for Hicham El Guerrouj in the 1,500 meters and Salah Hissou in the 5,000 meters.