Marie-José Pérec is a retired French track and field sprinter who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to two miles. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1500 m came about as a result of running 3+3⁄4 laps of a 400 m outdoor track or 7+1⁄2 laps of a 200 m indoor track, which were commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century.
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.
The world record in the mile run is the fastest time set by a runner in the middle-distance track and field event. World Athletics is the official body which oversees the records. Hicham El Guerrouj is the current men's record holder with his time of 3:43.13, while Faith Kipyegon has the women's record of 4:07.64. Since 1976, the mile has been the only non-metric distance recognized by the IAAF for record purposes. However, in international competitions such as the Olympics the term "mile" almost always refers to a distance of 1,500 meters, which is 109.344 meters shorter than an Imperial mile, even though four "full" laps of a 400 meter track is equal to 1,600 meters.
Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American former middle and long-distance runner.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 20 to 24. Thirty-eight athletes from 26 nations competed. The event was won by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, the nation's first title in the event after coming second twice ; El Guerrouj was the fifth man to win a second medal in the event. Bernard Lagat's silver put Kenya on the podium in the event for the third straight year; the United States and Great Britain were the only other nations to have accomplished that. It also made Lagat the sixth man to win two medals in the event, just behind El Guerrouj in both 2000 and 2004. Rui Silva's bronze was Portugal's first medal in the event.
The men's 5,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 25 and 28. The winning margin was 0.20 seconds.
Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pietro Mennea, the organizers added his name to the title of the meet.
The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and is now part of the Diamond League. The meet is one of the few international competitions to host the imperial distances of the Mile run and 2 Mile run.
Adil Kaouch is a Moroccan middle distance runner.
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
The mile run is a middle-distance foot race.
Hicham Bouaouiche is a retired Moroccan long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
The 1500 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics programme were held at Stadium Australia on Monday 25 September, Wednesday 27 September, and Friday 29 September 2000. Forty-one athletes from 26 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.25 seconds by Noah Ngeny of Kenya, the nation's first title in the event since 1988 and third overall. Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco took second, matching the nation's best result in the event.
The Men's 5000 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France on Sunday 31 August 2003 at 18:40h. There were a total number of 29 participating athletes, with two qualifying heats held prior to the final. Eliud Kipchoge won the race, followed by the Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele. The race has received enduring attention because the three medalists–– Kipchoge, El Guerrouj, and Bekele–– are often considered among the greatest runners in history.
The London Athletics Meet, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games and London Diamond League, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. As the London Grand Prix, until 2012 all editions were held at the National Sports Centre in Crystal Palace. The 2013 edition was renamed the Anniversary Games as it took place at the Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, exactly one year after the Olympic Games were held in the same venue and have been followed by an IPC London Grand Prix, making it a three-day event. In 2014 the meet was held in Glasgow, Scotland, as preparation for the Commonwealth Games held there later that month.
Morocco competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics from August 27 to September 4 in Daegu, South Korea.
Hicham Sigueni is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, but failed to reach the finals. Sigueni has won bronze medals in major junior competitions, at the 2012 World Junior Championships and the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.
Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and gold medals for the 3000 metres at the 2016 and 2018 World Indoor Championships. Kejelcha is the world indoor record holder for the mile with a time of 3:47.01, set on 3 March 2019 in Boston.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner, who is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 metres and the 2000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 metres in 2022 and 2023 and a four-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018 and 2022. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile and 5000 m, and is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500 m, sub-7:30 3000 m and a sub-12:50 5000 m.
