Marrakech 2025 Grand Prix preview: Home heroes eager to shine

After Dubai and New Delhi enthralled the Para athletics fans, the focus now turns to Africa as athletes head to Marrakech, Morocco for the third Grand Prix of the year.

This is the fourth consecutive year Marrakech hosts the World Para Athletics GP, since it first held the event in 2022. Once again at the Grande Stade de Marrakech.

African representation

A total of 335 athletes from 51 nations including 22 African countries will be in action at the Grande Stade over three days starting 24 April.

Hosts Morocco will have the largest delegation (48 athletes) followed by Kenya (21) and Tunisia (15).

Local fans will see in action eight out of the 10 Moroccan medallists in track and field events from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Among them is men’s 400m T47 Paralympic champion Aymane El Haddaoui and silver medallist Ayoub Sadni who gave Morocco a one-two podium in the event at Stade de France last year.

Tunisia will be represented by two of their four Paris 2024 Paralympic champions, Maroua Ibrahimi in the women’s club throw F32 and Amen Allah Tissaoui in the men’s 1500m T37. Tissaoui will also compete in the men’s 400m T37 in which he took bronze at Paris 2024.

Next Stop: 🇲🇦Marrakech 2025 GP✨

🏃🏾‍♀️335 athletes
🌍51 countries
🗓️24-26 April#ParaAthletics @Paralympics pic.twitter.com/jFcuo4NU1g

— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) April 17, 2025

International stars

Fourteen European delegations will be heading to Marrakech, with Czechia sending the biggest team with 13 athletes followed by Poland with 10. Great Britain’s Daniel Pembroke is one of the European Paralympic medallists heading to Morocco.

Guatemala, Haiti and Uruguay are the three nations from the Americas region represented in Marrakech.

From Asia, India and Malaysia will have some of the big names. 

Rio 2016 gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu, who is also a bronze medallist at Paris in the men’s high jump T63, is the biggest star in the 10-strong team coming from the nation that will host this year's World Championships. 

For Malaysia, it will be Paris 2024 silver medallist Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli who would be responsible to lead the side competing in men’s shot out F20.

Tokyo 2020 champion shot putter Ahmad Hindi should grab the attention in the Jordanian contingent even as Palestine will be represented by one athlete – Yazan Hannoon in men’s T35 sprint events.

Among other Asian nations, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan will also be eager to make a mark.

How to follow?

The Marrakech World Para Athletics Grand Prix can be followed live on YouTube. Complete schedule and results will be available here. 

Also keep an eye on our social media channels to witness the very best of the action from Marrakech.

What’s next?

The action gets intense as we move closer to the World Championships in New Delhi this September. 

From Morocco, the Grand Prix travels to the Americas – with Jalisco in Mexico and Cali in Colombia as the host cities. This will be followed by the Nottwil and Paris in Europe, Tunisia in Africa and the all-anticipated women's Grand Prix in Olomouc, Czechia.