Nawal El Moutawakel is a Moroccan former hurdler, who won the inaugural women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and was the first Moroccan to win an Olympic gold. In 2007, El Moutawakel was named the Minister of Sports in the upcoming cabinet of Morocco.
Hicham El Guerrouj is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record holder for the 1500 metres and mile events, and the former world record holder in the 2000 metres. He is the only man since Paavo Nurmi to win a gold medal in both the 1500 m and 5000 metres at the same Olympic Games.
Hasna Benhassi is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. She competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics and won two medals in the 800 m event, in 2004 and 2008. At the world championships she won a gold medal over 1500 m indoors in 2001 and silver medals over 800 m outdoors in 2005 and 2007. In 2004, she was named Sportsperson of the Year in Morocco after a survey conducted by the Moroccan Radio among 43 press institutions.
Bouchra Chaabi is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Getenesh Urge is a retired Ethiopian middle distance runner who competed in the 1980s through to 2000. She competed in the women's 1500 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal in the 5,000 metres and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics as well as gold in the 5,000 m and silver in the 10,000 m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, setting a new Olympic record in the former. Cheruiyot won the silver medal in the 5,000 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement in 2011, when she also won the 10,000 m. She added gold for the latter event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. After taking a silver in the 3,000 metres at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, Cheruiyot won a number of outdoor 5,000 m titles that year, becoming Commonwealth Games, African and Continental Cup champion, as well as winning the Diamond League title.
Btissam Lakhouad is a Moroccan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. She represented her country at the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012. She was fourth at the World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and has won medals at the Mediterranean Games and the African Championships in Athletics.
Mohamed Issangar is a retired Moroccan long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres.
Mahjoub Haïda is a retired Moroccan middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres.
Seltana Aït Hammou is a Moroccan middle-distance runner who specialises in the 800 metres. She represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics and has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics and the IAAF World Indoor Championships. She has also been the gold medallist at number of major events including the 2001 Mediterranean Games, the 2003 Military World Games, the 2007 Pan Arab Games and the 2009 Jeux de la Francophonie.
Mehdi El Ghazouani is a retired Moroccan long jumper.
Rababe Arafi is a middle-distance runner from Morocco, who specialises in the 1500 metres. Born in Khouribga, she is a three-time medallist at the African Championships in Athletics, having been the continental champion in 2012 with a championship record run of 4:05.80 minutes. She holds the Moroccan national record in the mile run and in the 1500m.
Gwendoline "Gwen" Griffiths South African runner who specialized in the 1500 and 5000 metres, later the marathon.
The athletics competition at the 1980 Islamic Games was held at the İzmir Atatürk Stadium in İzmir, Turkey between 26 September and 6 October 1980. This was the second major athletics event to be staged at the stadium, following the athletics at the 1971 Mediterranean Games. A total of thirty athletics events were contested, twenty-one for men and nine for women. While the men's programme was well attended, the women's events attracted very few entries, with Turkish female track athletes composing the bulk of the competitors. Women's athletics in the Arab world particularly was at an early stage of development – only a year earlier had women's events been introduced at the Arab Athletics Championships and the African Championships in Athletics been launched.
The 1986 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the second edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Cairo, Egypt. A total of 38 athletics events were contested, 22 for men and 16 for women. Algeria, a regional power in the sport, did not send a team.
The 1988 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the third edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Damascus, Syria – the first time the event was staged in West Asia. A total of 41 athletics events were contested, 23 for men and 18 for women. Morocco, a regional power in the sport, did not send a team. Syria entered for the first time.
The 1994 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the sixth edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Tunis, Tunisia. Qatar, after a good performance in 1992, did not send a team to the competition. A total of 42 athletics events were contested, 23 for men and 19 for women.
Marcianne Mukamurenzi is a Rwandan former long-distance runner. She won gold and bronze medals in 10,000 metres at the 1988 and 1989 African Championships in Athletics. She also competed for Rwanda in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, never progressing to the finals. She was the first woman to represent Rwanda at the Olympics. In 1991 she set the current Rwandan record in women's 3000 metres with the time of 8:59.90.
Jane Ngotho Wanjiku is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who specialised in 3000 metres, and 10,000 metres events. She won three medals in two different editions of the African Championships in 1989 and 1990, including one gold in 10,000 metres at the 1989 African Championships in Athletics in Lagos. She also competed for Kenya in the 1992 Summer Olympics in 3,000 metres, but did not progress to the finals.
Fatima El-Faquir is a Moroccan sprinter, coach, and sports professor. She was the first Moroccan to compete in the Olympics. She competed in the women's 100 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and was the first African Champion in 400m hurdles in Dakar in 1979. She was the first female athlete to give Morocco a title. She is the Professor of Higher Education at the Moroccan National Institute of Sport.
Morocco 
