Nawal El Moutawakel
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's Athletics | ||
Competitor for  Morocco |
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| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | 400m Hurdles |
| Mediterranean Games | ||
| Gold | 1983 Casablanca | 400m Hurdles |
| Gold | 1987 Latakia | 400m Hurdles |
Nawal El Moutawakel (Arabic: نوال المتوكل) (born on April 15, 1962 in Casablanca) is a Moroccan hurdler, who won the inaugural women's 400 m hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming the first female Muslim born on the continent of Africa to become an Olympic champion.[1] She was also the first Moroccan and the first woman from a Muslim majority country to win an Olympic gold medal.[2] In 2007, El Moutawakel was named the Minister of Sports in the upcoming cabinet of Morocco.
Although she had been a quite accomplished runner, the victory of El Moutawakel, who studied at Iowa State University at the time, was a surprise. The King of Morocco telephoned El Moutawakel to give his congratulations, and he declared that all girls born the day of her victory were to be named in her honor.[3] Her medal also meant the breakthrough for sporting women in Morocco and other mostly Muslim countries.
She was a pioneer for Muslim and Arabic athletes in that she confounded long-held beliefs that women of such backgrounds could not succeed in athletics.[4]
In 1995, El Moutawakel became a council member of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), and in 1998 she became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
El Moutawakel is a member of the International Olympic Committee, and she was the president of evaluation commissions for the selection of the host city for the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games.[5]
In 2006, El Moutawakel was one of the eight bearers of the Olympic flag at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy.
[edit] Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Morocco |
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| 1982 | African Championships | Cairo, Egypt | 2nd | 100 m | 11.7 s |
| 1st | 100 m hurdles | 13.8 s | |||
| 1st | 400 m hurdles | 58.42 s | |||
[edit] References
- ^ Billings, Andrew C. (2008). Olympic media. New York: Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 0415772508. http://books.google.com/books?id=OGndq_P4C44C&pg=PA2&dq=taiwan+winter+olympics+boycott&ei=gRHBSfrqJ4PGlQSjpIXHDg#PPA3,M1. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ Nawal El Moutawakel Wise Muslim Women. Retrieved 09 April 2011
- ^ Olympic report
- ^ Benchrif, Mohamed (1999-03-11). Nawal El Moutawakel - Pioneer and militant for Progress. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
- ^ IOC Announces 2016 Summer Games Evaluation Commission
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Dot Richardson |
Flo Hyman Memorial Award 2003 |
Succeeded by Kristi Yamaguchi |
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- 1962 births
- Moroccan sportsperson–politicians
- Living people
- People from Casablanca
- Moroccan athletes
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes of Morocco
- Olympic gold medalists for Morocco
- International Olympic Committee members
- Iowa State University alumni
- Government ministers of Morocco
- Moroccan women in politics
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Female hurdlers
