Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha Breaks 27-Year-Old Moroccan Record
Moroccan runner Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha broke the national half marathon record in 1:07:33 at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, beating a mark that had stood since 1999.
Moroccan runner Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha (22) broke the national half marathon record, finishing ninth at the World Road Running Championships held in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, on 19 and 20 September 2026, in 1:07:33.
A record that stood for 27 years
The new Moroccan record ends a mark held since 1999 by Asmae Leghzaoui, who ran 1:08:34 at the Marrakech half marathon. Birdaha beat it by one minute and one second, closing a chapter that had stayed open for more than a quarter of a century in Moroccan athletics.
| Athlete | Time | Year and place |
|---|---|---|
| Asmae Leghzaoui (previous record) | 1:08:34 | 1999 - Marrakech |
| Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha (new record) | 1:07:33 | 2026 - Copenhagen |
An exceptional season for the Moroccan runner
The achievement comes less than three weeks after Birdaha won gold in the 5,000 m at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, on 30 August 2026, in 15:07.40. She had set her previous half marathon personal best of 1:09:29 at the Rabat marathon in May 2026, before improving it by almost two minutes in Copenhagen.
Kenya's Agnes Jebet Ngetich won the race in 1:05:15, setting a new world record in women-only half marathons, in an edition that included a Moroccan delegation. The World Road Running Championships, organised every two years by World Athletics, bring together the world's best road runners.
What does this record mean for Moroccan athletics?
The performance reflects the rise of a new generation of Moroccan women in long-distance running, after the half marathon record stayed out of reach since the late 1990s, when Leghzaoui was among the top distance runners in Morocco and Africa. The result should give Birdaha extra momentum ahead of upcoming international events, as the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation works to strengthen the presence of its young women runners in long-distance races internationally, after years in which cross-country and middle-distance events dominated Morocco's medal tally.