Moroccans disappointed despite Benhassi's win

19/08/2008

Moroccan athlete Hasna Benhassi took third place in the women's 800m run on Monday, to win her country's first medal in this year's Olympic Games. Despite the victory, many fans are disappointed at Morocco's performance in Beijing.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat. Additional reporting by Naoufel Cherkaoui in Rabat – 19/08/08

[Mawassi Lahcen] Bronze medal winner Hasna Benhassi was confident in her medal prospects from the very start.

Moroccan runner Hasna Benhassi earned the first Olympic medal for her country on Monday (August 18th), winning bronze in the women's 800 metres. She ran the distance in a season-high 1 minute, 56.73 seconds, but it was not fast enough to edge out Kenyan competitors Pamela Jelimo (1:54.87) and Janeth Jepkosgei (1:56.07).

Benhassi was confident in her medal prospects from the very start. Looking to repeat her silver-medal performance in Athens in 2004, she told the press that she was prepared to come away with a medal, but admitted that Pamela Jelimo had the better chance.

Though she had aimed for a silver medal, Benhassi said: "The bronze medal is still an honour for me, though my ambition was for something greater. It's still added value to my sporting career."

"I think this year saw more robust athletes than there were last year," she said. "I hope to do better in the World Championship next year, and I also hope to take part in the next Olympic Games."

Mustafa Ushar, technical manager of Morocco's athletics team, said the team leadership had hoped Benhassi would win the gold, to cap her successful career. Nevertheless, he said, "I hope other athletes will look to her as a role model, and learn from the goodness of her heart, modesty and professional attitude. She did her absolute best in the 800m finals on Monday."

Many Moroccans looked to Benhassi to win where other Olympians had failed. Monday's newspapers called her the country's last hope for a medal in Beijing.

"The national athletics team is not returning empty-handed from Beijing," Le Matin printed. "Moroccan athlete Hasna Benhassi... ran a tightly-controlled race to come in third."

This performance gladdened the hearts of fans, many of whom felt that Hasna had saved the country from humiliation. Samir Namali, a student, said the Moroccan athlete fully accomplished her mission, even though there were hopes that she might at least have taken the silver.

"Her mission was a tough one, because this year she hasn't achieved any good times. She ended up getting a medal," he said.

Siham Bekkali, a secretary, shares his view. She said that after the disappointment of early defeat for the Moroccan boxers, athletics was the only hope: "We were banking on Hasna Benhassi, because alongside Jawad Gharib, she is almost the only experienced athlete in the Moroccan delegation. She didn't let us down, even though we had our sights set on a gold or silver medal."

However, many people still expressed disappointment at the result. IT worker Nadir Mohammadine said that despite Benhassi's victory, Morocco's performance in Beijing remains mediocre. "A bronze medal for Morocco is nothing; this country is used to doing better in the Olympics. Benhassi is 30 now and should have done better at her age to crown her sporting career. But unfortunately, they leave it all to chance," he said.

Hafid Soufiani, a local government worker, is also disappointed: "Before the Olympics, we were hoping for a lot. Now, in a country where the town planners never consider setting making room for sporting activities, and where club membership is barely 5%, we just have to rely on luck if we're going to distinguish ourselves in world competition. Alright, Benhassi's received the attention she deserves, but she could have done better."