Morocco at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Morocco at the Olympic Games
Flag of Morocco – Flag bearers IOC code  MAR NOC Comité Olympique Marocain
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
Competitors	58 (49 men, 9 women) in 9 sports
Flag bearer	Nezha Bidouane
Medals Rank: 36	Gold 2	Silver 1	Bronze 0	Total 3
Olympic history (summary)
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Morocco competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Medalists

Gold

• Hicham El Guerrouj — Athletics, Men's 1500 metres

• Hicham El Guerrouj — Athletics, Men's 5000 metres

Silver

• Hasna Benhassi — Athletics, Women's 800 metres

Results by event

Athletics

Morocco sent a 23-person Athletics team to Athens and was rewarded with three medals. Two came from one of the Games' biggest stars, Hicham El Guerrouj. Guerrouj entered the Games as a four-time World Champion in the 1500 metres, but had fallen in the Atlanta final, and finished second in Sydney, and was still pursuing an Olympic gold medal. He breezed through the qualifiers for the 1500 metres, and held off Bernard Lagat in the final to win gold. Four days later, El Guerrouj used a strong finish to pull past 10000 metres gold medalist Kenenisa Bekele to win gold in the 5000 metres, being the first athlete to win the 1500-5000 double since Paavo Nurmi, and also becoming the first ever Moroccan double gold medalist.

Morocco's other medal in Athens also came in middle-distance running, in this case, the women's 800 metres. Hasna Benhassi easily qualified to the final, where she set a new national record, and just pushed ahead of two other runners to earn silver in a very close finish, just five-hundredths of a second short of gold, and just eight-hundredths ahead of fourth.

Moroccan runners recorded five other finals appearances in Athens. Mouhssin Chehibi in the men's 800 metres did very well to set a personal best in the semifinal, and made a strong finishing kick to move up from 6th to 4th in the closing metres of the final. Adil Kaouch, Hicham Bellani and Abderrahim Goumri all were in finals with El Guerouj, Kaouch in the 1500 and Bellani and Goumri in the 5000. None of the three managed to challenge for a medal alongside the double gold medalist. Benhassi successfully qualified for the 1500 metres final as well, but was unable to add to her silver medal. All but three of the twenty-three athletes competed in long or middle-distance running, with only two field athletes participating. Two notable athletes that did not finish in the top eight were Jaouad Gharib, 2003 world champion in the Marathon, who finished 11th, and Nezha Bidouane, who had won a bronze medal in Sydney and gold at the 2001 World Championships, who did not get out of her opening heat in the 400 metre hurdles.

Men's 800 metres:

• Mouhssin Chehibi

• Round 1 — 1:46.77 (2nd in heat 9, Qualified, 32nd overall)
• Semifinal — 1:44.62 (3rd in semifinal 2, Qualified, 3rd overall) (Personal Best)
• 'Final — 1:45.16 (4th overall)

• Amine Laalou

• Round 1 — 1:45.88 (1st in heat 6, Qualified, 12th overall)
• Semifinal — 1:47.53 (7th in semifinal 1, did not advance, 20th overall)

Men's 1500 metres:

• Youssef Baba

• Round 1 — 3:38.71 (7th in heat 3, Qualified, 11th overall)
• Semifinal — 3:42.96 (10th in semifinal 2, did not advance, 20th overall)

• Hicham El Guerrouj

• Round 1 — 3:37.86 (1st in heat 1, Qualified, 4th overall)
• Semifinal — 3:40.87 (1st in semifinal 2, Qualified, 10th overall)
• Final — 3:34.18 (→ Gold Medal)

• Adil Kaouch

• Round 1 — 3:39.88 (4th in heat 2, Qualified, 18th overall)
• Semifinal — 3:35.69 (1st in semifinal 1, Qualified, 1st overall)
• Final — 3:38.26 (→ 9th overall)

Men's 5000 metres:

• Hicham Bellani

• Round 1 — 13:22.64 (6th in heat 1, Qualified, 13th overall)
• Final — 13:31.81 (→ 9th overall)

• Abderrahim Goumri

• Round 1 — 13:20.03 (5th in heat 2, Qualified, 5th overall)
• Final — 13:47.27 (→ 13th overall)

• Hicham El Guerrouj

• Round 1 — 13:21.87 (3rd in heat 1, Qualified, 9th overall)
• Final — 13:14.39 (→ Gold Medal)

Men's 10000 metres:

• Mohammed Amyne

• 28:55.96 (→ 18th overall)

Men's Marathon:

• Rachid Ghanmouni

• did not finish

• Khalid El Boumlili

• did not finish

• Jaouad Gharib

• 2:15:12 (→ 11th overall)

Ghanmouni and El Boumlili both pulled out between the halfway point and the 25 km checkpoint.

Men's 3000 metre Steeplechase:

• Abdelatif Chemlal

• Round 1 — 8:29.36 (→ 9th in heat 2, did not advance, 25th overall)

• Ali Ezzine

• Round 1 — 8:20.18 (5th in heat 1, Qualified, 10th overall)
• Final — 8:15.58 (→ 8th overall)

• Zouhair Ouerdi

• Round 1 — 8:27.55 (4th in heat 3, did not advance, 21st overall)

Men's Long Jump:

• Yahya Berrabah

• Round 1 — 7.62 m (→ 16th in Group A, did not advance, 30th overall)

• Tarik Bougtaib

• Round 1 — 7.79 m (→ 13th in Group B, did not advance, 24th overall)

Women's 800 metres:

• Hasna Benhassi

• Round 1 — 2:01.20 (1st in heat 1, Qualified, 10th overall)
• Semifinal — 1:58.59 (1st in semifinal 2, Qualified, 3rd overall)
• Final — 1:56.43 (→ 'Silver Medal, Moroccan Record)

• Amina Aït Hammou

• Round 1 — 2:03.70 (2nd in heat 4, Qualified, 24th overall)
• Semifinal — 2:00.66 (→ 7th in semifinal 1, did not advance, 17th overall)

• Seltana Aït Hammou

• Round 1 — 2:03.95 (2nd in heat 6, Qualified, 28th overall)
• Semifinal — 2:00.64 (→ 6th in semifinal 3, did not advance, 16th overall)

Women's 1500 metres:

• Hasna Benhassi

• Round 1 — 4:05.98 (5th in heat 2, Qualified, 5th overall)
• Semifinal — 4:07.39 (5th in semifinal 1, Qualified, 13th overall)
• Final — 4:12.90 (→ 12th overall)

• Bouchra Ghezielle

• Round 1 — did not start

Women's Marathon:

• Hafida Izem

• 2:40:46 (→ 27th overall)

• Kenza Wahbi

• 2:41:36 (→ 30th overall)

Women's 400 metre Hurdles:

• Nezha Bidouane

• Round 1 — 55.69 (→ 3rd in heat 3, did not advance, 18th overall)

Boxing

Morocco sent seven boxers to Athens. Only two of them won their first bouts, including Sydney bronze medalist Tahar Tamsamani, and both were defeated in the second round to give the team a combined record of 2-7.

Men's Light Flyweight (– 48kg):

• Redouane Bouchtouk

• Round of 32 — Lost to Carlos José Tamara of Colombia (25 - 48)

Men's Flyweight (– 51kg):

• Hicham Mesbahi

• Round of 32 — Defeated Lechedzani Luza of Botswana (25 - 20)
• Round of 16 — Lost to Andrzej Rzany of Poland (20 - 33)

Men's Bantamweight (– 54kg):

• Hamid Ait Bighrade

• Round of 32 — Lost to Diwakar Prasad of India (17 - 25)

Men's Lightweight (– 60kg):

• Tahar Tamsamani

• Round of 32 — Lost to Sam Rukundo of Uganda (22 - 30)

Men's Light Welterweight (– 64kg):

• Nafil Hicham

• Round of 32 — Defeated Isidro Mosquea of Dominican Republic (42 - 40)
• Round of 16 — Lost to Nurzhan Karimzhanov of Kazakhstan (13 - 33)

Men's Welterweight (– 69kg):

• Ait Hammi Miloud

• Round of 32 — Lost to Oleg Saitov of Russia (15 - 30)

Men's Heavyweight (– 91kg):

• Rachid El Haddak

• Round of 16 — Lost to Devin Vargas of the United States (outscored; Round 3, 1:20)

Fencing

Men's Épée:

• Aissam Rami

• Round of 64 — Lost to Serguey Kotchetkov of Russia (6 - 15)

Football (Soccer)

The Moroccan team qualified for the Olympics after getting a go-ahead penalty goal in their final qualifying match against Angola.^[1] The three over-23 players named by coach Mustapha Madih were Nadir Lamyaghri, Otmane El Assas and Bouchaib El Moubarki. Seven of the team played club football in Morocco, and five in France, with Raja Casablanca the most represented team.

Morocco managed to earn four points from their three matches, but were unable to qualify, losing out on goals scored to Costa Rica. Their tournament opened with a nil-nil draw with the Costa Ricans, which they followed with a 2-1 loss to Portugal, having trailed two-nil before they snatched back a late consolation goal. In their final match, they faced an Iraqi team that had already qualified for the knockout round. They fell behind early, but seized back a goal on a penalty before pulling ahead with 13 minutes to play. However, they were unable to get the one additional goal that would have qualified them for the knockout stages, and were eliminated. The team's leading scorer was Bouabid Bouden of RC Lens, who scored two of Morocco's three goals.

Men's Competition:

• Team Roster

• Goalkeepers
  • Omar Charef
  • Nadir Lamyaghri
• Defenders
  • Jamal Alioui
  • Badr El Kaddouri
  • Elamine Erbate
  • Oussama Souaidy
  • Tajeddine Sami
  • Moncef Zerka
• Midfielders
  • Salaheddine Aqqal
  • Otmane El Assas
  • Yazid Kaissi
  • Azzeddine Ourahou
  • Merouane Zemmama
• Forwards
  • Mustapha Allaoui
  • Bouabid Bouden
  • Bouchaib El Moubarki
  • Farid Talhaoui
  • Mehdi Taouil

Morocco also had four alternate players, who were not counted as part of the official roster.

• Alternates

• Abdelouahad Abdessamad (defender)
• Jawad Akadar (forward)
• Youssef Boutarbouch (goalkeeper)
• Younes Zarouk (midfielder)

• Group D

• Drew with Costa Rica (0 - 0)
• Lost to Portugal (1 - 2) (Bouabid Bouden 85')
• Defeated Iraq (2 - 1) (Bouabid Bouden pen 69', Salaheddine Aqqal 77')

• 3rd in group, did not advance (4 points, 3 GF, 3 GA, 0 GD, T-10th overall)

Judo

The two Moroccan judokas in Athens combined for a 1-3 record, with both losing their first match, but Adil Belgaid getting a second chance in the repechage round, as his first opponent ended up in the final. Belgaid advanced to the second repechage round before losing again to end his run.

Men's Extra-Lightweight (– 60 kg):

• Younes Ahamdi

• Round of 32 — Lost to Evgeny Stanev of Russia (Uki-waza; ippon - 0:29)

Men's Half-Middleweight (– 81 kg):

• Adil Belgaid

• Round of 32 — Lost to Roman Gontyuk of Ukraine (Tomoe-nage; ippon - 2:46) (advanced to first repechage round)
• Repechage Round 1 — Defeated Reza Chahkhandagh of Iran (Ura-nage; yuko)
• Repechage Round 2 — Lost to Florian Wanner of Germany (Yoko-shiho-gatame; w'ari ippon - 2:13)

Swimming

Men's 200 metre Freestyle:

• Adil Bellaz

• Heat — 1:55.79 (→ did not advance, 53rd place)

Taekwondo

The three-member team in Taekwondo sent to Athens by Morocco went 3-4, with two members advancing to a quarterfinal. Mouna Benabderassoul scored a third round point in her quarterfinal to force a 4-4 tie, but lost a superiority decision. In the men's over 80 kg, Abdelkader Zrouri gave up three late points to his Greek opponent to lose, but was drawn into the repechage, where he managed to win his first match, before losing to the eventual bronze medalist.

Men's Over 80 kg:

• Abdelkader Zrouri

• Round of 16 — Defeated Luis Noguera of Venezuela (8 - 5)
• Quarterfinal — Lost to Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece (2 - 5) (advanced to first repechage round)
• Repechage Round 1 — Defeated Julian Alberto Rojas Rivera of Colombia (6 - 2)
• Repechage Round 2 — Lost to Pascal Gentil of France (1 - 3)

Women's Under 67 kg:

• Mouna Benabderassoul

• Round of 16 — Defeated Mounira Nahdi of Tunisia (6 - 2)
• Quarterfinal — Lost to Ineabelle Diaz of Honduras (4 - 4; Superiority)

Women's Under 67 kg:

• Mounia Bourguigue

• Round of 16 — Lost to Daniela Cartignano of Italy (4 - 6)

Tennis

Morocco's two tennis players did not win a match in Athens, with Arazi and El Aynaoui falling to higher ranked opponents in their opening matches, then withdrawing from their doubles match before it was played.

Men's Singles:

• Hicham Arazi

• First Round — Lost to (5) Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain (3 - 6, 1 - 6)

• Younes El Aynaoui

• First Round — Lost to Dominik Hrbatý of Slovakia (3 - 6, 4 - 6)

Men's Doubles:

• Hicham Arazi and Younes El Aynaoui

• First Round — Lost to Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus (walkover)

Weightlifting

Yacine Zouaki finished last in his weight class, 20 kilograms behind the second-to-last lifter.

Men's 62 kg:'

• Yacine Zouaki

• 225.0 kg (Snatch — 95.0 kg, Clean & Jerk — 130.0 kg, 15th overall)

Non-competing athletes

Wafa Ammouri pulled out of the women's 56 kg weightlifting event, but was on the original entry list. The same was true for Abdalaati Iguider in the men's 1500 metres, Hicham Guermoud in the 3000 metre steeplechase, Zahra Ouaziz in the women's 5000 metres, and Zhor El Kamch in the women's 5000 metres and the marathon.

Officials

• President — General Housni Benslimane
• Secretary General — Colonel Mustapha Zeki

See also

• Morocco at the 2005 Mediterranean Games

References

• Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad

• Wallechinsky, David; Jamie Loucky (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics — 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1845133306. 

1. ^ "Games of the XXVIII. Olympiad Football Qualifying Tournament record". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. March 13, 2005. http://rsssf.com/tableso/ol2004q.html. Retrieved 2008-07-28.