Hassiba Boulmerka ( ar, حسيبة بولمرقة, born 10 July 1968) is a former Algerian
middle distance athlete.
Career
Born in
Constantine, Boulmerka started running seriously at the age of ten,
[ specializing in the 800 and ]1500 metres
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...
. She was successful in national and regional races, although there wasn't much competition. Her first major international tournament was the 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
, where she was eliminated in the preliminary heat of both the 800 and 1500 m.
Boulmerka's performances slowly became better, and her big breakthrough came in 1991. The first major race she won was the 800 m. at the ''Golden Gala'' race in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy. A month later, she competed at the World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. On the last straight of the 1500 m final, she sprinted to victory, becoming the first African woman to win an athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
world title.
Her remarkable performance did not only give her positive attention. She was frequently criticized by Muslim groups in Algeria who thought she showed too much of her body when racing. Boulmerka received death threat
A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...
s[Hassiba Boulmerka: Defying death threats to win gold]
BBC, 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2012-02-11. and was forced to move to Europe to train. In spite of this, she was one of the favorites for the 1500 m gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
. In the final, she fought off Lyudmila Rogachova and Qu Yunxia
Qu Yunxia (; born 25 December 1972 in Dalian) is a Chinese Olympic athlete who specialized in the 1500 metres.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she won a bronze medal in 1500 m.
On 9 November 1993 she set the world record in the 1500 ...
(world record holder until 2015) for the gold medal. It was Algeria's first gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Boulmerka's next two seasons were not as successful, although she won a bronze medal at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
. In 1995, she hadn't won a single race going into the World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, but this did not prevent her from winning her second world title. It was her only victory of that season, and her last major victory. She competed at the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, but sprained her ankle in the semi-finals. After the 1997 season, in which she did not defend her world title, she retired from sports.
Boulmerka was later elected to the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
.
She formerly held the 1500 metres African record with her time of 3:55.30 run on 8 August 1992 in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. She also held the one mile
The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch t ...
African record of 4:20.79, set in 1991 in Oslo, for 17 years until it was beaten by Gelete Burika of Ethiopia, who timed 4:18.23 in 2008.[IAAF, September 7, 2008]
Powell cruises to 9.77 and 9.82 in Rieti – IAAF World Athletics Tour
/ref>
Post-athletics career
Boulmerka has returned to Algeria and is now a businesswoman.[
* best Algerian athletes of the last 50 years 2013
]
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulmerka, Hassiba
1968 births
Living people
Algerian female middle-distance runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Algeria
Olympic gold medalists for Algeria
Sportspeople from Constantine, Algeria
World Athletics Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Algeria
Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Algeria
Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Mediterranean Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1993 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics
World Athletics Championships winners
21st-century Algerian women
20th-century Algerian women