Hicham El Guerrouj is considered the best Moroccan athlete of all time. Specialist in long-distance and middle-distance races, he won four world champion titles over 1,500 meters from 1997 to 2003 and three other indoor world titles, he was also a winner of the gold medals at the 2004 Olympic games, in Athens. He is the current 1,500m outdoor world record holder and also has the best 1,500m world performance ever. He was named best athlete of the year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Hicham El Guerrouj has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2004.
