Hicham El Guerrouj (; ; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner who is the current world record holder in the 1500 metres. He formerly held the world records in the 2000 metres and mile. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, he became the first man since Paavo Nurmi to win gold medals in both the 1500 m and 5000 metres at the same Olympic Games.
Regarded as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time, he recorded six of the 10 fastest 1500 m performances in history and four of the 10 fastest performances in the mile as of June 2026. El Guerrouj's mile world record of 3:43.13 lasted for 27 years (1999–2026). He and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are the only men to have run faster than 3:27 for the 1500 m and 3:44 for the mile. El Guerrouj is also the only man to have broken 3:27 in the 1500 m more than once, achieving the feat five times.
El Guerrouj won four consecutive world titles in the 1500 m, taking gold at the 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003 World Athletics Championships. He was named World Athlete of the Year three times and was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hall of Fame in November 2014.
Early life and career Born in Berkane, Hicham El Guerrouj comes from a family of farmers. He initially pursued soccer and basketball in his sporting endeavors, but his spark in the sport of athletics came at the age of 13, when a local coach recognized his talent and encouraged him to pursue the sport. According to El Guerrouj, his urban upbringing and close proximity to a sports stadium allowed him to watch athletics competitions often, fueling his passion for running.
El Guerrouj's first international triumph was at age 18, when he came third in the 5000 metres of the 1992 Junior World Championships in Seoul, behind Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and Ismael Kirui of Kenya. A year later, he was the #2 man on the Moroccan team at the World Junior Cross Country Championships.
In 1994, he was a member of the Moroccan team in the 1994 IAAF World Road Relay Championships, which won the race in world record time.
El Guerrouj rose to international prominence in the mid-1990s with near-record times in the 1500 metres and mile. At the age of 20 he finished second in the 1500 metres to then world record holder Noureddine Morceli at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. In 1996 after setting a new personal best in the 1500 metres of 3:29.59 in Stockholm, he was considered one of the favourites for the Olympic gold.
1996 Atlanta Olympics – 1999 season El Guerrouj competed in his first Olympic Games in 1996 at Atlanta. Running the 1500 metres final, as he was moving into position to challenge for the lead, he fell with 400 m to go and finished last in 12th place. He had been expected to challenge the world record holder and three-time World champion, Noureddine Morceli.1996 Atlanta Olympics sporting-heroes.net: El Guerrouj fell to the ground1996 Atlanta Olympics YouTube video: Atlanta Olympics 1996 - Men's 1500m final
One month later, at the Grand Prix final in Milan, El Guerrouj became the first runner to defeat Morceli over 1500 m in four years. In the following years, El Guerrouj became the only middle distance runner to win four consecutive world titles in 1997,YouTube video 1500m final - 1997 World Championships 1999,YouTube video 1500m final - 1999 World Championships 2001, and 2003.YouTube video 1500m final - 2003 World Championships
El Guerrouj set two world indoor records at the start of the 1997 season, starting with a 1500 m record of 3:31.18 at the Sparkassen Cup, which was not beaten until 22 years later, in 2019 by Samuel Tefera. He also set a new indoor world record of 3:48.45 in the mile run at the Indoor Flanders meeting a few weeks later, which stood until Yomif Kejelcha bettered the mark in 2019.
In 1998 in Rome, El Guerrouj broke Morceli's 1500 m world record (3:27.37) with a time of 3:26.00. With an average pace of 54.93 seconds per lap, this record still stands today, and is the first performance in the 1500 m where the pace averaged under 55 seconds per lap.YouTube video: Hicham El Guerrouj sets a new world record at 1500m in 1998
In 1999, also in Rome, El Guerrouj broke the world record in the mile set by Morceli in 1993, with a time of 3:43.13, completing the first 1500 metres in 3:28.21. Noah Ngeny of Kenya, who ran second, was also under the previous world record with a time of 3:43.40, which remained the second place world record until 2026. This was the first time in over 40 years that two men had bettered the mile world record in the same race,YouTube video: Hicham El Guerrouj sets a world record in the mile in 1999 neither of which had been broken until 2026 when Josh Kerr beat El Guerrouj's mile record in London, UK.
Later that season he set a new world record over 2000 m in Berlin at 4:44.79, bettering the previous mark set by Morceli by more than three seconds, that has since been broken by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who ran 4:43.13 in 2023. In 1999 El Guerrouj also ran what was then the second fastest 3000 m ever in Brussels, with a time of 7:23.09.
2000 Sydney Olympics – 2003 season At the Sydney Olympics, El Guerrouj was favourite to take gold but finished second in the 1500 metres, behind Noah Ngeny, a talented Kenyan runner at the peak of his career who had run as El Guerrouj's pacemaker when El Guerrouj ran his 1500m world record in Rome in 1998.2000 Sydney Olympics YouTube video: Men's 1500mEl Guerrouj, a picture of despair, The Guardian, 30 Sep 2000Noah Ngeny - Kenya - Olympic gold at 1500 metres, sporting-heroes.net
El Guerrouj successfully defended his 1500 m title in the 2001 and 2003 World Championships and came close to breaking his own 1500 m record in Brussels in 2001 with a time of 3:26.12. He also won 3 consecutive IAAF Golden League prizes in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He was the only middle distance athlete to produce the winning streak necessary to be entitled for a share of the jackpot of 50 kilograms (1,608 troy ounces) of gold (2000–2002) or US$1 million (1998–1999, 2003–present). As of 2011 he was the only athlete to have won it three times in a row.
In 2003, El Guerrouj set a personal best of 12:50.24 in the 5000 metres, which is the 26th fastest ever in the event. Later in the year, at the World Track & Field Championships, he finished a close second to Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in the 5000 metres, adding a silver to the gold he had previously won in the 1500 metres.
2004 Athens Olympics and retirement
After a relatively poor start to the 2004 season that included slow times and an 8th-place finish in a 1500-metre race in Rome, El Guerrouj entered both the 1500 metres and the 5000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Only 20 days before the Olympic final, 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Bernard Lagat ran the fastest 1500 m in 2004 (3:27.40), narrowly defeating El Guerrouj (3:27.64) at the Weltklasse Zürich meet on August 6. On August 24, in the final straight of the Olympic 1500m final, El Guerrouj beat Lagat by 0.12 seconds, winning the gold medal. In the finale, entering the home straight El Guerrouj led, only to be overtaken by Lagat- and then El Guerrouj re-took the lead a few strides from the line.2004 Athens Olympics YouTube video: Men's 1500m final
Four days later, El Guerrouj won the 5,000 m final with a time of 13:14.39, preventing Kenenisa Bekele from achieving the 5000 m/10000 m distance double, last achieved by Ethiopian Miruts Yifter in 1980 Moscow Olympics.2004 Athens Olympics YouTube video: Men's 5000m final
El Guerrouj became the first man in 80 years to win both 1500m and 5000m titles in the same Olympics, previously achieved only by the "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi in 1924.
On 16 May 2005, El Guerrouj was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year.
Having fulfilled his sporting ambitions & due to injuries from his years of high intensity training, El Guerrouj never competed internationally again after the 2004 Olympics and announced his retirement on May 22, 2006.El Guerrouj retires from track - cbc.caKing of Middle Distance, Hicham El Guerrouj retires - IAAF
Awards and honors His sporting career is marked by numerous recognitions such as the award for humanitarian effort from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which he received in 1996. He is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. El Guerrouj was named IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2001, 2002 and 2003 after remaining unbeaten in more than 20 races, becoming the first man to win the award in consecutive years. He was also named best athlete of the year by the athletics journal Track and Field News in 2002. In 2003, he was elected as a member of the IAAF Athletes Committee.
On September 7, 2004, El Guerrouj was decorated with the "Cordon de Commandeur" by King Mohammed VI of Morocco. In the same year, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Awards.Thousands of asturian children of all ages to join Hicham El Guerrouj in a race for peace - fundacionprincipedeasturias.org
He was a member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission from 2004 to 2012.
Hicham El Guerrouj is today an Ambassador for Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization, as well as a member of its "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport.
Personal life During the 1996 Summer Olympics, after his devastating fall in the 1500 metres final, El Guerrouj received a call from King Hassan II, then the King of Morocco, who told him, "Do not cry. You are a champion in the eyes of the Moroccan people." In response to this call, El Guerrouj later said, "After the call by His Majesty, it was another el-Guerrouj who was born. There is no similarity to the el-Guerrouj before this call and the el-Guerrouj right now."
On 27 September 2003, El Guerrouj married Najoua Lahbil. They have a daughter named Hiba.
El Guerrouj is an admirer of Roger Bannister, whom he considers to be his "spiritual father." El Guerrouj met Bannister in 2000, and attended a 70-year anniversary event of Bannister's first sub-four minute mile on 6 May 2024 in Oxford, England. In 2019, he also attended the World Athletics Heritage Mile Night in Monaco, which was organized by Sebastian Coe.
In 2024, reflecting on the differences between the mile and 1500 metres, El Guerrouj stated the following:
El Guerrouj attended the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, and was also a torchbearer. He also attended the 2024 Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on 13 September, where he greeted Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the finish line of the 1500 m.
International competitions
Representing 1992World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea3rd5000 m13:46.791995World Indoor ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain1st1500 m3:44.54World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden2nd1500 m3:35.281996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States12th1500 m3:40.751997World Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France1st1500 m3:35.31World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece1st1500 m3:35.831999World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain1st1500 m3:27.65 2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia2nd1500 m3:32.322001World Indoor ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal1st3000 m7:37.74World ChampionshipsEdmonton, Canada1st1500 m3:30.682003World ChampionshipsParis, France1st1500 m3:31.772nd5000 m12:52.832004Olympic GamesAthens, Greece1st1500 m3:34.181st5000 m13:14.39
Personal bests The following table includes El Guerrouj's personal best times as published by the IAAF: