Nawal El Moutawakel
El Moutawakel in 2009 | ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Women's athletics | ||
Representing ![]() | ||
Olympic Games | ||
![]() |
1984 Los Angeles | 400 m hurdles |
Mediterranean Games | ||
![]() |
1983 Casablanca | 400 m hurdles |
![]() |
1987 Latakia | 400 m hurdles |
Nawal El Moutawakel (Amazigh: Nawal Lmutawakkil; Arabic: نوال المتوكل; born on April 15, 1962 in Casablanca) is a former Moroccan hurdler, who won the inaugural women's 400 metres 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.
Life
Although she had been a quite accomplished runner, the victory of El Moutawakel, who studied at Iowa State University[3] at the time, was a surprise. King Hassan II 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.[4] 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.[5]
In 1993 she started running for fun, a 5 km run for women in Casablanca that has since become the biggest women's race held in a Muslim country, with up to 30,000 who came to run.[3]
In 1995, El Moutawakel became a council member of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and in 1998 she became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
El Moutawakel is a member[3] 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.[6] Since 2012 she is a Vice-President of the IOC.[7]
In 2006, El Moutawakel was one of the eight bearers of the Olympic flag at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy. On 26 July 2012, she carried the Olympic torch through Westminster, London, for the London Olympics.[8]
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing ![]() | |||||
1979 | Mediterranean Games | Split, Yugoslavia | 6th | 100 m | 12.13 |
5th | 200 m | 24.64 | |||
1981 | Arab Championships | Tunis, Tunisia | 1st | 100 m | 11.86 |
1st | 200 m | 24.30 | |||
World Cup | Rome, Italy | 8th | 100 m | 11.921 | |
7th | 4x100 m relay | 46.151 | |||
1982 | African Championships | Cairo, Egypt | 2nd | 100 m | 11.7 |
1st | 100 m hurdles | 13.8 | |||
1st | 400 m hurdles | 58.42 | |||
1983 | Maghreb Championships | Casablanca, Morocco | 1st | 200 m | 24.0 |
1st | 100 m hurdles | 13.4 | |||
1st | 400 m hurdles | 58.5 | |||
World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 33rd (h) | 100 m hurdles | 14.85 | |
12th (sf) | 400 m hurdles | 57.10 | |||
Mediterranean Games | Casablanca, Morocco | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.59 | |
1984 | African Championships | Rabat, Morocco | 1st | 200 m | 23.93 |
1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.01 | |||
Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 54.61 | |
1985 | African Championships | Cairo, Egypt | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.00 |
Universiade | Kobe, Japan | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 55.59 | |
World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 4th | 400 m hurdles | 56.051 | |
7th | 4x400 m relay | 3:36.861 | |||
1987 | Universiade | Zagreb, Yugoslavia | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 55.21 |
Arab Championships | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | 200 m | 24.33 | |
1st | 400 m | 54.28 | |||
1st | 400 m hurdles | 59.93 | |||
World Championships | Rome, Italy | 18th (h) | 400 m hurdles | 57.21 | |
Mediterranean Games | Latakia, Syria | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.28 |
1Representing Africa
See also
References
- ^ Billings, Andrew C. (2008). Olympic media. New York: Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 0-415-77250-8. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ^ Nawal El Moutawakel Wise Muslim Women. Retrieved 9 April 2011
- ^ a b c Sarah Duguid (9 June 2012). "The Olympians: Nawal el-Moutawakel, Morocco". Financial TImes Magazine.
- ^ Olympic report Archived 15 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Benchrif, Mohamed (1999-03-11). Nawal El Moutawakel - Pioneer and militant for Progress Archived 15 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
- ^ IOC Announces 2016 Summer Games Evaluation Commission Archived 26 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ms Nawal EL MOUTAWAKEL, IOC site.
- ^ "BBC - Olympic Torch Relay - Camden to Westminster". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Use dmy dates from June 2013
- 1962 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Casablanca
- Moroccan sportsperson-politicians
- Moroccan female hurdlers
- Olympic athletes of Morocco
- Olympic gold medalists for Morocco
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- World Championships in Athletics athletes for Morocco
- International Olympic Committee members
- Iowa State University alumni
- Government ministers of Morocco
- National Rally of Independents politicians
- Moroccan emigrants to the United States
- Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Morocco
- Competitors at the 1983 Mediterranean Games
- Competitors at the 1987 Mediterranean Games
- Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Women government ministers of Morocco