About Hicham El Guerrouj
Hicham El Guerrouj (Arabic: هشام الݣروج; Berber languages: ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⵍⴳⵔⵔⵓⵊ, romanized: Hisham El Gerruj; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner who is the current world record holder in the 1500 metres. He formerly held the world records in the 2000 metres and mile. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, he became the first man since Paavo Nurmi to win gold medals in both the 1500 m and 5000 metres at the same Olympic Games. Regarded as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time, he recorded six of the 10 fastest 1500 m performances in history and four of the 10 fastest performances in the mile as of June 2026. El Guerrouj's mile world record of 3:43.13 lasted for 27 years (1999–2026). He and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are the only men to have run faster than 3:27 for the 1500 m and 3:44 for the mile. El Guerrouj is also the only man to have broken 3:27 in the 1500 m more than once, achieving the feat five times. El Guerrouj won four consecutive world titles in the 1500 m, taking gold at the 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003 World Athletics Championships. He was named World Athlete of the Year three times and was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hall of Fame in November 2014. El Guerrouj is the current world record holder for the 1500 metres and mile, and the former world record holder in the 2000 metres. El Guerrouj's first international triumph was at age 18, when he came third in the 5000 metres of the 1992 Junior World Championships in Seoul, behind Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and Ismael Kirui of Kenya. He won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003 World Athletics Championships. He won the World Athlete of the Year award three times, and in November 2014, was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hall of Fame. He is the only man since Paavo Nurmi to win a gold medal in both the 1500 m and 5000 metres at the same Olympic Games.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.