Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali won the 3000m steeplechase at the Mohammed VI International Athletics Meeting held in Rabat on Sunday.
The Moroccan Athlete set the world-leading time of the year, clocking 7:57.25. El Bakkali finished ahead of Germany’s Frederick Ruppert and Kenya’s Simon Kiprop Koech.
The World Athletics Meeting International Mohammed VI, third stage of the Diamond League Circuit, was chaired by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan.
The Crown Prince’s presidency of this major international competition, organized under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI, reflects the constant interest shown by the Monarch in sport, which has become a strong lever for human development, inclusion, social cohesion, and the fulfillment of younger generations.
It also illustrates the prominent place granted by the Monarch to athletics, the mother of all sporting disciplines, which embodies the values of perseverance, self-improvement, and fair play, as well as the special attention he has continually granted to the youth. This is achieved by ensuring they are offered optimal conditions to perfect their skills (modern infrastructures, high-quality technical coaching, structured training programs, and competition opportunities at the national and international levels) and to hold high the colors of the Kingdom.
This international sporting event, which brings together the biggest names in world athletics, is broadcast live on 150 global channels.
Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan then watched the various competitions that took place during this high-level sporting event, where some participating athletes set new Meeting records in several disciplines.
Established on June 14, 2008, the Mohammed VI International Athletics Meeting in Rabat constitutes a stage in the athletics development plan adopted by the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation (FRMA).
Each year, this emblematic sporting event allows high-caliber global athletes to discover the City of Rabat, inscribed as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2012. It also contributes to the international influence of Morocco, the only country in Africa to host a stage of the prestigious “Diamond League” circuit, while consolidating the enlightened royal vision aimed at establishing Rabat as the City of Light, the Capital of Culture.
With the support of “World Athletics”, the Confederation of African Athletics, and the mobilization of FRMA partners, this sporting rendezvous was part of the IAAF World Challenge calendar from 2010 to 2015 and was promoted to the “Diamond League” in 2016.
The “Diamond League” international athletics circuit, which runs from May 16 to September 5, 2026, features 15 meetings organized in Shanghai/Keqiao and Xiamen (China), Rabat (Morocco), Rome (Italy), Stockholm (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Doha (Qatar), Paris (France), Eugene (United States), Monaco (Principality of Monaco), London (United Kingdom), Lausanne and Zurich (Switzerland), Chorzów/Silesia (Poland), and finally Brussels (Belgium), where the finals will take place on September 4 and 5.
