Hafida Izem (born 20 April 1979) is a Moroccan

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner. She represented her country at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Based in Italy, she mainly competes in road races in the country, having won marathons in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Biography

Her first international selection came at the 2001 Universiade, where she was 17th over

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

.Izem Hafida

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2011-05-02. She won the Bari Marathon the following year. She opened her 2003 with a win at the Mare Monti

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

and she improved her marathon best to 2:36.18 hours at the

Rome City Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the t ...

, coming fourth. She won the 2003 Prato Marathon in September. She ran a half marathon best to claim the title at the

Roma-Ostia Half Marathon The Roma–Ostia Half Marathon ( ''or'' ) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in early March in Rome, Italy. The course begins in the EUR district of the city and follows a direct southeasterly route to the finish poin ...

in February, winning in a time of 1:10:39 hours. In March, Izem became the inaugural women's winner of the 2004 Treviso Marathon, and just one week later she ran at the

2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20/21, 2004. The races were held at the Ossegem Park in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', and for the IAAF. ...

, taking 65th place. She set a course record at the Vivicittà Firenze Half Marathon the following month. A marathon best of 2:36:02 came at the Neapolis Marathon in Naples and she gained selection to represent Morocco the event at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. She was 27th in the Olympic marathon race in Greece. Izem had a period of illness in 2005 but returned in 2006 to set a career best time of 2:31:30 hours at the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

, taking third place on the podium. She was fifth at the Roma-Ostia race in 2007, but took the top honours at the Citti di Pistoia Half Marathon a month later. She also ran a best for the 20 km (1:09:36) that month, coming fifth at the 20 van Alphen. She won the half marathon race at the 2011 edition of the Casablanca Marathon, then won the Half Marathon de Laayoune at the end of the year.26/12/2011 Stefan Tum and Hafida Izem winners of the 13th Half Marathon de Laayoune
. CAA (2011-12-26). Retrieved on 2011-12-28.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izem, Hafida Living people 1979 births Moroccan female long-distance runners Moroccan female marathon runners Olympic athletes for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics