Moroccan Marathon Sensation Gardadi Sets Sights on Olympic Gold After World Championship Bronze

In August, Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi gave Morocco its first medal (bronze) in the Women’s Marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. A real triumph for the Moroccan, ranked 159th before her participation and who had never participated in world championships. "It’s an incredible feeling to win this medal," she told The National. "I am very proud to bring this medal to the entire Arab world and to the Moroccan people in particular. It motivates me even more to redouble my efforts to bring back a gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics."

According to the 31-year-old athlete, this medal has really paved the way for Moroccan women in the marathon. "I feel like I’ve given Moroccan and Arab women the confidence and assurance they’ve lost in recent years. So it’s a positive step forward, and I hope they’ll continue to believe in themselves because they’re fully capable of competing with the best in the world," she added.

Moroccan Jaouad Gharib, double world champion in the marathon and silver medalist at the Olympic Games, is Gardadi’s idol. She intends to follow in his footsteps. "At the age of 36, he won an Olympic medal [in Beijing in 2008]. He did it at such an advanced age, no one had done what he did," she explained. "He is a role model for me and I want to achieve what he did, which would be a first for Moroccan women in my discipline."

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Gardadi also paid tribute to Moroccans Nawal El Moutawakel, Hasna Benhassi and Nezha Bidouane, who have all been a source of inspiration for her. Her dream is to win a medal at the Paris Olympics next year. "After winning this medal at the world championships, it has become my responsibility to win one at the Olympic Games," Gardadi said. Other goals pursued: to participate in the Boston Marathon in April and to enter the top 10 of the world rankings.