Abderrahmane Hammad Zaheer (, born May 27, 1977) is the

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n Minister of Youth and Sports and a former

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. He represented his country at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, taking the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

and made a second appearance at the 2004 Athens Olympics.Abderrahmane Hammad
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2011-01-04. His personal best of 2.34 m is the Algerian record for the event. He retired from the sport in 2010. In 2020, he became the President of the

Algerian Olympic Committee The Algerian Olympic and Sport Committee (, ) (IOC code: ALG) is the National Olympic Committee representing Algeria. It was created on 18 October 1963 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 27 January 1964. History On 23 Octob ...

. Hammad was appointed as minister on 16 March 2023.

Biography

Hammad was born in Dellys. He began his international career as a junior in 1994 with high jump

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

s at the

African Junior Athletics Championships The African Athletics U20 Championships, known formally as African Junior Athletics Championships is a biennial continental athletics event for junior athletes from African nations. Organized by the Confederation of African Athletics and first h ...

and Pan Arab Junior Championships. He went on to win the African Junior

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 b ...

the following year and then the Arab Junior title in 1996. He competed at the

1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Sydney, Australia on August 20–25. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1049 athletes from 142 c ...

but did not make it into the final round. Hammad won his first Algerian title in 1997 and went on to take nine consecutive titles up to 2005. He had his first international success at senior level in 1997, taking silver at both the Pan Arab Championships and the 1997 Pan Arab Games. He ascended to the top of the continental rankings at the 1998 African Championships in Athletics, where he secured the African title with a clearance of 2.21 metres.African Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-01-04. He was selected to represent Africa at the 1998 IAAF World Cup as a result and finished in sixth place.Hammad Abderrahmane

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2011-01-04. He improved further the following season and was runner-up at the 1999 All-Africa Games with a jump of 2.24 m and cleared 2.27 m to win the silver at the 1999 Military World Games. He managed tenth place at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, between the Augus ...

that year and improved his personal best to 2.32 m in

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the fronti ...

in September. The 2000 season marked the peak of his career: first, he retained his continental title at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

with a career best and championship record jump of 2.34 m. He then made his Olympic debut at the

2000 Sydney Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. He reached the final round and cleared 2.32 m – sixth other athletes achieved the same mark but Hammad secured the

through count-back. He won the high jump at the 2001 Mediterranean Games the following season and was ninth in the final at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 and 12 August 2001 and was the first time the event ...

. He won a third consecutive high jump title at the

2002 African Championships in Athletics The 13th African Championships in Athletics were held in Tunis and Radès, Tunisia in August, 2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a maj ...

, took bronze at the 2002 IAAF Grand Prix Final and placed fourth for Africa at the 2002 IAAF World Cup. He had a season's best of 2.30 m in 2003 but failed to make the final round at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the streets of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, F ...

. He represented Algeria for a second time at the Olympics at the 2004 Games in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, but again failed to reach the final. He competed at the 2004 Pan Arab Games and took the high jump title with eight centimetres to spare over the opposition.Matthews hurdles 13.21, Kamel wins 800m, Al Bishi doubles, and Rahouli takes fourth title in Pan-Arab Games – Day 4

(2004-10-08). Retrieved on 2011-01-04. The 2007 season was his final year at the top level of international competition: he was second to Kabelo Kgosiemang to take silver at the

2007 All-Africa Games The 9th All-Africa Games (; ), also known as Algiers 2007 (), took place from 11 to 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers became the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were a ...

and made a third and final appearance for Algeria at the World Championships, being eliminated in the qualifying stage.

Competition record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammad, Abderrahmane 1977 births Living people People from Dellys Sportspeople from Boumerdès Province Kabyle people Algerian male high jumpers Olympic athletes for Algeria Olympic bronze medalists for Algeria Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Algeria Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games silver medalists for Algeria Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Algeria Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2001 Mediterranean Games 20th-century Algerian sportsmen 21st-century Algerian sportsmen Government ministers of Algeria 21st-century Algerian politicians Youth ministers of Algeria Sports ministers of Algeria African Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field)