Considered the greatest middle-distance runner of all time, Hicham El Guerrouj turns 42 today.

The Moroccan, who was born in the northeastern city of Berkane in Morocco, holds seven of the 10 fastest times ever run in the mile and was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hall of Fame in 2014.

His world records set in the 1,500m (3:26.00, 14/07/1998), the 2,000m (4:44.79, 07/09/1999) and the mile (3:43.13, 07/07/1999) all stand to this day, with no one from the current generation coming even close.

El Guerrouj won two Olympic gold medals in the 1,500m and 5,000m at the Athens Games in 2004 (the first man in 80 years to win both at the same Olympics), after grabbing 1,500m silver in Sydney four years earlier. He is also a four-time

Other sport stars birthdays on this day

1957: Kepler Wessels, ex-cricketer, who played for Australia, then captained South Africa post-Apartheid (59).

1978: Ben Cohen, former rugby union player, who won the 2003 World Cup with England (38).

1987: Michael Crabtree, American NFL player, who plays as a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders (29).

1990: Douglas Costa, Brazilian footballer, who plays as a winger for Bayern Munich (26).