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 ...

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 ...

sHassiba 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

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
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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