Hicham El Guerrouj

1500m/5000m Olympic double champion, WR holder for 1500m/mile.

Hicham El Guerrouj was born on 14 September 1974 in Berkane, in the foothills of Morocco's Atlas Mountains, and was inspired to take up running as a teenager by fellow Moroccan Said Aouita's Olympic 5000m gold in 1984. El Guerrouj won bronze in the 5000m at the 1992 World Junior Championships behind future rival Haile Gebrselassie, and developed into one of the finest middle-distance runners in history, though his early career was marked by heartbreak when he fell just before the bell in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic 1500m final while leading. El Guerrouj broke Noureddine Morceli's 1500m world record in Rome in 1998, and went on to set world records in the mile and 2000m the following year, winning 61 of 64 races over 1500m or the mile between 1996 and 2001, a run of dominance rarely matched in the sport's history. El Guerrouj finally claimed Olympic gold at the 2004 Athens Games, winning both the 1500m and 5000m to become only the second man since Paavo Nurmi to complete the double at a single Games. He was named World Athlete of the Year three times, remains the current world record holder in both the 1500m and mile, and was inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame in 2014.

Tactical runner with devastating finishing kick

Greatest middle distance runner of all time

• 2004 Olympic gold 1500m & 5000m
• 4x World champ 1500m
• 1500m/mile WRs