28/12/2004
An opinion poll conducted by the Maghreb Arab Presse sports department, national radio, television channel 1 and 28 other Moroccan media organizations elected Hicham El Guerrouj and Hasna Benhassi best male and female athletes of 2004. El Guerrouj beat out Marouane Chamakh, who distinguished himself through his performance with the Atlas Lions in the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia.
In the female category, the title went to Olympic 800m silver medallist Hasna Benhassi. She also ran the 1,500m in Athens and wound up the year with a victory at the World Athletics Championships in Monaco. She was followed in the voting by Atiqa Sabib, who won three gold and two silver cycling medals in the 10th Pan-Arab games in Algiers. (MAP)