The guttural roar from Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi as she crossed the finish line to become the first Moroccan or Arab woman to win a World Championship medal in the marathon said it all.
The 31-year-old spoiled what was going to be an Ethiopian sweep in the women’s marathon in Budapest last month, and her now famous celebration stole the show and moved many to tears, as she lifted her arms in disbelief before falling to ground, audibly weeping, and reveling in her third-place finish.
Barely mustering the energy to get up, Gardadi draped herself in a Moroccan flag and sunk to her knees once more, kissing the ground and giving a prayer after shocking the field with her historic performance.
“You’ve made us proud, you’ve made us proud,” said an emotional Arabic commentator on beIN Sports during the final moments of the race. “The gates of history are wide open for you.”
Gardadi had been in sixth place going into the closing stages. She entered the event targeting a top-five finish to secure qualification for the Olympics but ran a smart race and ended up with her nation’s first podium finish by a woman in a World Championship marathon.
A month later, Gardadi is still on cloud nine.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win this medal,” she told The National. “I’m so proud to bring this medal to the entire Arab world, and to Moroccan people specifically. It gives me even greater motivation to put in more effort to bring home a gold medal from the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“It’s a huge incentive to keep going from strength to strength in all upcoming championships.”
To most followers, Gardadi’s success came out of nowhere. She went to Budapest ranked 159 in the world and hadn’t competed in previous World Championships.
But Gardadi knew what she was capable of and was confident after months of training at her base in Ifrane, a popular destination for athletes competing in endurance sports due to its high altitude (1,665m) amidst the Atlas Mountains.
Originally a runner across the 5km, 10km and half-marathon distances, Gardadi switched her focus to the full marathon four years ago at the recommendation of her coach Mustapha Al Moussaoui, who felt she had the talent for it. He was not wrong.
In her debut marathon last year in Marrakech, Gardadi not only won, but also smashed the course record, clocking 2:25:07.
