The Mediterranean Games came to an end Thursday, September 3, in Taranto, Italy, with Morocco finishing seventh overall. Moroccan athletes collected 44 medals across 10 sports, including 16 golds, nine silvers and 19 bronzes.
Italy topped the final medal standings, with Turkey second and Greece third.
Morocco’s 44 medals came across a wide range of disciplines, with its athletes making their mark on the podium throughout the Games. Here is a look back at their victories and medal-winning performances.
Athletics
Morocco has traditionally excelled in athletics, and the discipline once again brought the Kingdom several medals across different events. Moroccan athletes won seven gold medals, the latest of which came from Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha. They also won four silver medals and five bronze medals.
Gold – Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha – Women’s 5,000m
Gold – Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha – Women’s half-marathon
Gold – Yassine Hssine – Men’s 100m
Gold – Yassine Hssine – Men’s 200m
Gold – Salma Lehlali – Women’s 400m
Gold – Ismail Manyani – Men’s 400m hurdles
Gold – Salaheddine Ben Yazide – Men’s 3,000m steeplechase
Silver – Mohamed Tindouft – Men’s 3,000m steeplechase
Silver – Souad Elhaddad – Women’s 1,500m
Silver – Mustapha Akkaoui – Men’s 10,000m
Silver – R. M’hamdi, W. El Boussiri, I. Manyani, M. Y. Zerhoum – Men’s 4x400m relay
Bronze – Souad El Haddad – Women’s 800m
Bronze – Kawtar Farkoussi – Women’s 10,000m
Bronze – Fouad Messaoudi – Men’s 5,000m
Bronze – Anass Essayi – Men’s 1,500m
Bronze – Hicham Ouladha – Men’s 10,000m
Boxing
Morocco’s boxers also performed strongly, winning two gold medals, one silver and three bronze medals in categories ranging from bantamweight (-54 kg) to super-welterweight (-70 kg).
Gold – Soulaimane Samghouli – Men’s super-lightweight (-65 kg)
Gold – Saida Lahmidi – Women’s super-welterweight (-70 kg)
Silver – Widad Bertal – Women’s bantamweight (-54 kg)
Bronze – Abdelhaq Nadir – Men’s welterweight (-70 kg)
Bronze – Yasmine Mouttaki – Women’s light-flyweight (-51 kg)
Bronze – Mounia Toutire – Women’s welterweight (-65 kg)
Karate
In the combat sports, five Moroccan athletes stood out, winning two gold medals and three bronze medals.
Gold – Chaimae El Hayti – Women’s -55 kg
Gold – Mehdi Sriti – Men’s -84 kg
Bronze – Saïd Oubaya – Men’s -67 kg
Bronze – Hamza Sam – Men’s -75 kg
Bronze – Sawsane Benchbab – Women’s -61 kg
Judo
In the Japanese-born discipline, Moroccan judokas won one gold medal and two silver medals.
Gold – Ahmed Cherifi – Men’s -60 kg
Silver – Soumiya Iraoui – Women’s -52 kg
Silver – Hassan Doukkali – Men’s -73 kg
Taekwondo
In the discipline originating from South Korea, Morocco won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Gold – Soufiane El Asbi – Men’s +80 kg
Silver – Haitam Zarhouti – Men’s -80 kg
Silver – Amina Dehhaoui – Women’s -57 kg
Bronze – Nada Laaraj – Women’s -67 kg
Tennis
Moroccan players also performed well on the tennis courts, winning two gold medals and two bronze medals.
Gold – Karim Bennani – Men’s singles
Gold – Yassine Dlimi & Younes Lalami Laroussi – Men’s doubles
Bronze – Diae El Jardi & Younes Lalami Laroussi – Mixed doubles
Bronze – Yasmine Kabbaj – Women’s singles
Equestrian sports
Morocco also reached the podium in equestrian sports, winning two bronze medals, one in the team event and one individually.
Bronze – Show jumping team – Team event (Abdelkebir Ouaddar, El Ghali Boukaa, Abdeslam Bennani Smires, Ali Al Ahrach)
Bronze – El Ghali Boukaa – Individual show jumping
Football
In football, the two Moroccan teams taking part, Ludovic Batelli’s U20 men and Youness Rabie’s U17 women, left Italy with bronze medals in the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Artistic gymnastics
Hamza Hossaini won a gold medal in the vault event. The medal was a historic achievement for Morocco, coming 33 years after the country’s previous gold medal at the Games, won by Khalid Saber at the Languedoc-Roussillon Mediterranean Games.
Wrestling
Morocco won one bronze medal in wrestling, with Yazid Gharbi taking third place in Greco-Roman wrestling in the men’s under-60 kg category.
