21 Moroccan athletes leave for IAAF championships

Moroccan runner Malika Akkaoui The first group of Moroccan athletes set to compete in the 14th World Championships in Athletics left for Moscow on Wednesday. The 21-member delegation consists of 14 men and seven women. The rest of the team will travel to the Russian capital on August 10.
The championships will be held in Moscow from August 10 to 18.
The Moroccan team has been training at the Mohammed VI International Academy in Ifrane and the National Centre in Rabat. Sporting chiefs are hopeful of witnessing a number a podium finishes after the team\'s medal-less campaign during the 2011 event in Daegu, South Korea.
The women’s team consist of athletes who have distinguished themselves this summer in European meetings including Malika Akkaoui, who has the second world best performance of the year. Akkaoui will compete in the 800m alongside Halima Hachlaf.
Ibtissam Lakhouad, Siham Hilali and Rabab Arrafi will compete in the 1500m, with Salima El Ouali Alami in the 3000m steeplechase and Lambarki Hayat in the 400m Hurdles.
Abdelaâti Iguider, the bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in London, will lead the men’s team and has been registered for the 1500m and 5000m. Zakria Maazouzi and Mohammed Messtawi will contest in the 1500m, and Aziz Hababi and Othman Komri in the 5000m.
The participation of Jawad Gharib, Hafez al-Shani and Mohammed Belal has not been confirmed. Hamed el-Zain, Jawad Shamlal and Mohammed Bolama will compete in the 3000m steeplechase, while Samir Jamei and Amin el-Menawi will race in the 800m.