Morocco’s King Mohammed VI received Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali to award him the Wissam (decoration)Al Arch, Commander’s Order, on Wednesday at the Royal Palace in Tétouan, northern Morocco.
Abdeslam Ahizoune, President of the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation, was among the attendees at the honorary ceremony.
This honor follows El Bakkali’s historic achievement at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he successfully defended his title for the second consecutive time, repeating his victory at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
El Bakkali won Morocco’s first gold medal in the 3000 m steeplechase with a time of 8:06.05 at the Olympic Games.
His victory ended a 37-year streak of Kenyan dominance in the event, making El Bakkali the first non-Kenyan-born athlete to win Olympic gold in the steeplechase since 1980.
The champion arrived in Morocco on Saturday at the Salé-Rabat Airport. Upon his arrival, the athlete received a congratulatory letter from the monarch.