Kirdadi in an exclusive interview: “My achievement in the World Championships was a dream… and thus I will prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

Interviewed by: Abdel Aziz Arjdal

Moroccan champion Fatima Zahraa Kirdadi confirmed her pride in the achievement she achieved weeks ago at the World Athletics Championships, after she awarded Morocco a bronze medal in the marathon race.

In an interview with Heba Press, Kirdadi revealed the secret of her brilliance in the World Championships, after she surpassed internationally ranked female runners and became the first Moroccan runner to win a marathon medal in the World Championships.

First, you recently won a bronze medal in the marathon race at the World Athletics Championships. What does this achievement represent to you?

“Thank you to the Heba Press website for hosting. For me, the global achievement I achieved is like a dream that I stayed up and worked hard to achieve after years of playing, persevering and hard work. This was a great challenge for me, and thank God, thanks to my parents’ hostility, working with my coach and my husband’s support, it was achieved.” the dream”.

Tell us about the secret of your brilliance at the World Championships after you surpassed other advanced runners in the world rankings?

This is my first international participation, and many considered my achievement a surprise, but it is different for me, because there is no surprise, and you must commit and strive to reach your goal. I entered the race with strong determination and will, and I did not pay attention to the competitions before the race, as I focused on myself even though I I didn’t know that there were female runners behind me who were leading the world rankings.

What came to your mind the moment you reached the finish line and took third place, especially since your joy was hysterical?

The moment I reached the finish line as the entire world watched, I cannot describe that feeling of happiness, because I honored my country and represented it in the best possible way, and gave it an expensive medal in a difficult discipline for the first time in the history of Morocco within the women’s marathon discipline.

Ok, how did you receive King Mohammed VI’s congratulations after your global achievement?

I received royal congratulations from the country’s first athlete, King Mohammed VI, with great pride and honor, and it is a great honor for me that the king supports me with a message that will make me work and strive even harder in the coming times.

How are you preparing to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and what are the most important milestones that you intend to participate in before the start of the Olympic Games?

I am currently on vacation in order to catch my breath, and I will enter a closed training camp, God willing, in preparation for participating in one of the marathon races before the Olympics, as I will participate in either the British or the United States Marathon, and after that I will enter the final stage of preparations in a closed camp before the Olympics. .

Your achievement in the World Athletics Championships confirms once again that Moroccan women are capable of honoring their country in the largest international competitions, and this also comes after the awakening of the women’s football team. What is your message to Moroccan women?

My final message to the youth, especially the female component, is that nothing is impossible as long as there is determination, will, work and diligence, and nothing is impossible when you have the desire to reach it, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the first athlete, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God grant him victory, the Royal Guard, the city of Safi, and everyone who… He believed in Fatima Zahraa Kardadi.