Nawal El Moutawakel

Nawal El Moutawakel grew up in Casablanca in a family that, unusually for the time and place, encouraged their daughter to play sport. Her father drove her to training and defended her against relatives and neighbours who thought a girl in running shorts was shameful. She was quick over hurdles and won a scholarship to Iowa State University in the United States, where the winters were a shock and the training was serious.

Her father died in a car accident in the months before the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984. She thought about giving up. Instead she went to the Games as an outsider in the first ever women's Olympic 400 metres hurdles, and won by a clear margin. She was the first woman from Morocco, from Africa, and from a Muslim-majority country to win an Olympic gold. King Hassan II telephoned her, and it was reported that girls born in Morocco that day were named Nawal in her honour.

She never won another major title, but her second career was longer than her first. She became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1998, later one of its vice presidents, and served as Morocco's minister for sport. She led the evaluation commissions that assessed cities bidding to host the Games.

She has spent decades organising a women's run through the streets of Casablanca, aimed at girls who were told what she was once told.