Nawal El Moutawakel (

Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

: ⵏⴰⵡⴰⵍ ⵍⵎⵓⵜⴰⵡⴰⵇⵇⵉⵍ ; ar, نوال المتوكل; born 15 April 1962) is a Moroccan former

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, who won the inaugural women's

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

event at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

, and was the first Moroccan to become an Olympic medalist (gold). In 2007, El Moutawakel was named the Minister of Sports in the upcoming

cabinet of Morocco The Cabinet of Morocco is the chief executive body of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Cabinet is usually composed of some 25 ministers and 5 to 10 "Secretaries of State" and "Minister Delegates". It is headed by the Prime Minister (officially ''Head o ...

Life

El Moutawakel was born in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, and was studying at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...

when she won her Olympic title, which came as a surprise in her home country.

King Hassan II Hassan II ( ar, الحسن الثاني, translit=al-Ḥasan aṯ-ṯhānī;), with the prefix "Mulay" before his enthronement 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was the King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. He was a member of the 'Alaw ...

of Morocco telephoned her to give his congratulations, and he declared that all girls born the day of her victory were to be named in her honor. Her medal also meant the breakthrough for sporting women in Morocco and other mostly Muslim countries. She was a pioneer for Muslim and African athletes in that she confounded long-held beliefs that women of such backgrounds could not succeed in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

. In 1993 she started running for fun, a 5 km run for women in Casablanca that has since become the biggest women's race held in a Muslim majority country, with up to 30,000 who came to run. In 1995, El Moutawakel became a council member of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), now known as

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

, and in 1998 she became a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC). El Moutawakel is a member of the

, and she was the president of the evaluation commissions for the selection of the host city for the Summer Olympics of

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. Since 2012 she is a vice-president of the IOC. In 2006, El Moutawakel was one of the eight honored to bear the Olympic flag at the

2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony The Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics (''Torino 2006'') was held on 10 February 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET (UTC+1) at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Italy. The ceremony was attended by 35,000 spectators with the presence of numerous ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy. On 26 July 2012, she carried the London Olympics torch through Westminster. El Moutawakel was one of the ambassadors of the

Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid The Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid was Morocco's unsuccessful bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It competed with the United 2026 bid of Canada, Mexico, and the United States for hosting rights. Background The 2026 bid was Morocco's fift ...

International competitions

¹Representing Africa

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moutawakel, Nawal El 1962 births Living people Moroccan Muslims Sportspeople from Casablanca Moroccan sportsperson-politicians Moroccan female hurdlers Olympic athletes of Morocco Olympic gold medalists for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Morocco International Olympic Committee members Iowa State Cyclones women's track and field athletes Government ministers of Morocco National Rally of Independents politicians Moroccan emigrants to the United States Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Women government ministers of Morocco Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Universiade gold medalists for Morocco Universiade bronze medalists for Morocco Competitors at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade African Championships in Athletics winners 21st-century Moroccan women politicians 21st-century Moroccan politicians

Life

International competitions

See also

References

External links