Soufiane El Bakkali is set to defend his 3000m steeplechase title at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday and become the third Arab to win double gold.
Aside from El Bakkali, Hicham El Guerrouj who won 1500m and 5,000m gold in Athens 2004, and Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli, who won the 1500m freestyle in Beijing 2008 and 10km marathon in London 2012 are the only two Arabs to achieve the feat.
While El Guerrouj headlined a strong Moroccan athletics team, which consistently won medals at world championships and the Olympics, there has been a marked decline in recent years.
The 28-year-old is favored to win the title, having won the last three global championships.
After first winning at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he became the first non-Kenyan runner to win the Olympic steeplechase title since 1980.
He confirmed his status with back-to-back victories in world championships in Eugene and Budapest.
“Covid-19 was beneficial to me,” the Moroccan was quoted as saying. “Instead of waiting every two years to take part in a global championships, I participated in one a year and claimed three gold medals.”