Top 10 male African athletes in 2023 (5-1)

This is Deji Ogeyingbo’s second part, in his salute to the Top 10 Male African Athletes in 2023 (5-1).

Top 10 male African athletes in 2023 (5-1)

In our ongoing annual series spotlighting the Top 10 male African Athletes of the Year, we unveiled Part 1 earlier today.. Part 2 carries forward the countdown, focusing on the outstanding accomplishments of the athletes who secured positions in the Top 5 of our selection. Here, we present the remarkable achievements of athletes ranked from No. 5 to No. 1.

5. Soufiane El Bakkali

Moroccan runner Soufiane El Bakkali takes the number five spot. He’s one of the few athletes on the grid to have completed the full set of titles, winning the Olympic, World, and Diamond League titles in the last three years. To add to that, he went the entire 2022 unbeaten in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase, a situation that meant he had a target on his back heading into 2023. 

El Bakkali opened his steeplechase season on home soil as he stormed to a massive Personal Best of 7:56.68s. That race proved that he was in good shape, coming off the back of a fourth-place finish in the 3000m at the Doha Diamond League, a race he lost to the young and vibrant Lamecha Girma. 

It was against that backdrop that many wondered if the Ethiopian was going to knock him off his perch heading into the world championships in Budapest. El Bakkali replied with two statement wins at the Stockholm and Silesia Diamond League in July. For the very first time in two years, the Moroccan wasn’t seen as the favorite to defend his crown in Budapest. 

Ultimately, it became a game of Chess in Budapest. In the end, Girma, twice a world record-breaker this year, had to settle for a fourth global 3000m steeplechase silver medal as the world and Olympic champion El Bakkali beat him in a familiar manner to win in 8:03.53.

There was another monumental struggle between the two men over the final lap as Ethiopia’s Girma – who set a world indoor 3000m record and then lowered the world steeplechase record that had stood since 2004 to 7:52.11 – strove to make his new status tell.  But as in last year’s World Championships in Oregon and the Tokyo Olympic final, the 27-year-old Moroccan found the killing final speed to frustrate Girma’s ultimate ambition.

El Bakkali ended his season with a fine display at the…