Soufiane El Bakkali, popularly known as El Bakkali is a track and field athlete from Morocco who specializes in the 3000m steeplechase. He scripted history at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, after winning the Olympics as he became the first non-Kenyan to achieve this feat since Poland's Bronislaw Malinowski in the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the first non-Kenyan athlete to clinch the gold medal at the Olympics or World Championships since 1987. El Bakkali has also won three medals at the World Athletics Championships, the latest one being the gold medal at the Oregon 2022. At the Diamond League 2022, he also clinched the gold medal. His personal best is 7:58.15 secs which he achieved in the year 2018.
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Soufiane El Bakkali, then 18-year-old, finished fourth in the 3000 m steeplechase at the World Junior Championships in Athletics in 2014 before making his senior debut at the 2014 African Championships in Athletics. He also ran cross-country, finishing 18th as a junior at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2015.
After setting a personal record at the Herculis meeting in the 3000m event by finishing fourth in 8:14.41 minutes, the Moroccan athlete was chosen to represent Morocco in the 2016 Summer Olympics. El Bakkali finished fourth and lowered his personal record to 8:14.35 at the Olympics in Rio. He clinched the 1500-meter race on September 3, 2020, at the 14th International Marseille Athletics Meeting in France. El Bakkali qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he won gold in his signature discipline with a time of 8:08.90. By winning the competition, he became the first non-Kenyan to do so since Poland’s Bronislaw Malinowski in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and the first non-Kenyan to earn a gold medal at the Olympics or World Championships since 1987.
El Bakkali won the gold medal in the 3000 m steeplechase with a time of 8:25.13 on July 18, 2022, at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He claimed his first Diamond Trophy in September at the Diamond League final in Zürich. Three days later, he completed a strong campaign by setting an African record in the 2000-meter steeplechase at the Hanekovi Memorial in Zagreb, clocking a time of 5:14.06 to ascend to third place on the all-time overall ranking. El Bakkali ran the fastest time in the world that season (7:58.28) while remaining unbeaten in Rabat Diamond League.
| Event | Total | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Olympics | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| World Championships | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Diamond League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| All-Africa Games | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| South American Games | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| African Championships | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Event | Best Result | Mark | Place |
| Olympics | Tokyo Olympics 2020 | 8:08.90 | Gold |
| World Championships (Outdoor) | Doha 2019 | 8:03.76 | Bronze |
El Bakkali’s present biggest rival is Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia. Girma finished as the runner-up in both Tokyo Olympics 2020 and World Championships 2022 in which Bakkali emerged the champion. However, after losing to Bakkali on two of the biggest occasions, Girma will be eyeing for a revenge against the Moroccan athlete.
Soufiane El Bakkali in action at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (Image Credits - Twitter)
Soufiane El Bakkali after becoming the world champion in Oregon 2022 (El Bakkali in a file photo; Credits - Twitter)
Soufiane El Bakkali after becoming the Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020 (Image Credits - Olympics.com)
Soufiane El Bakkali in action during Diamond League (El Bakkali in a file photo)
