Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali retained his Olympic 3,000m steeplechase title on Wednesday to become only the third Arab to win double gold.
El Bakkali clocked 8min 06.05s to win. American Kenneth Rooks took silver in 8:06.41 and Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot claimed bronze (8:06.47).
Ethiopian Lamecha Girma was left lying on the track after falling on an obstacle, the world record holder finally pulled through.
“I suffered from an injury and I managed to overcome it,” said El Bakkali, who was able to disrupt the Ethiopian team’s tactics with the help of his own team-mate Mohamed Tindouft.
“The race was not easy. During the race I asked him to do anything to help me, so he pushed forward and increased the pace to break the Ethiopian block.”
El Bakkali admitted that he even thought he might not participate in Paris because of his injuries.
“I’m sorry, now I understand what I did,” he said in tears after the race.
“I have made history with this second Olympic title in a row and I owe it to the Moroccan fans who have not stopped supporting me with their messages that I have not been able to respond to, and to current and former champions.”
Twenty-eight-year-old El Bakkali came to the Olympics with a target on his back, having won the last three world championships.
After a maiden triumph at the Covid-postponed 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when he became the first non-Ken runner to win the Olympic steeplechase title since 1980, he confirmed his status with back-to-back victories at the world championships in Eugene and Budapest.
His second Olympic gold in the French capital leaves him in rare company among Arab athletes to double up at the Summer Games.
As El Bakkali raced to victory, there were concerns about Girmo, the world record holder, who fell badly at the penultimate barrier.
Girma jumped over the obstacle with his knee and threw himself headfirst into the lane. He remained supine and motionless before receiving medical treatment.
