Ali Ezzine (Arabic: علي الزين ; born September 3, 1978, in Ain Taoujdate,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

) is a Moroccan athlete who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the bronze medal in this event at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

held in Sydney, Australia. He first came to prominence with a bronze medal in the steeplechase at the

1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Sydney, Australia on August 20–25. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1049 athletes from 142 cou ...

, also held in Sydney. His first senior medal came at the

1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 21/22, 1998. The races were held at the Menara district in Marrakech, Morocco. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IAA ...

, where his twelfth-place finish helped the Moroccan men to the team silver medal. He had his first individual global success at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

. At the 1999 World Championships he won the bronze medal in the men's steeplechase. He also won the bronze at the

1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final The 1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final was the fifteenth edition of the season-ending competition for the IAAF Grand Prix track and field circuit, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held on 11 September at the Olym ...

. Two years later, after his Olympic medal performance, he attended the 2001 World Championships and improved to the silver medal. He returned to the Olympic stage at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, but he did not reach the podium on that occasion, finishing in eighth in the final. In 1999 he achieved the fastest ever time in the steeplechase for a non-Kenyan athlete (8:03.57). This mark has since been surpassed by several other non-Kenyans.

Achievements

Personal bests

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

- 3:43.8 min (1998) * 3000 metres - 7:45.9 min (2004) * 5000 metres - 13:32.56 min (1997) * 3000 metres steeplechase - 8:03.57 min (2000)

External links

Focus on Athletes article
from IAAF * * 1978 births Living people Moroccan male long-distance runners Moroccan male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Morocco People from Ain Taoujdate World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Morocco-athletics-bio-stub