Djamel Sedjati (also written Sejati, , born May 3, 1999, in

Tiaret Tiaret () or Tahert () is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the Hautes Plaines, i ...

) is an Algerian middle-distance runner specializing in the

800 meters The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

. He is the fifth fastest man in history at the distance, behind Marco Arop, Emanuel Wanyonyi,

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

and world record holder

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...

. Sedjati won the bronze medal at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

event.

Career

2021: Early career

Previously unknown in Algeria, Sedjati came to prominence after achieving notable performances in several Algerian national meetings. On 26 March, at the Algerian Winter Championships in Algiers, he finished second to Mohamed Ali Gouaned in the 600 meters with a time of 1:17:40. For 800 meters, he also ran 1:45.99 in a Batna meeting on 12 April, defeating Mohamed Ali Gouaned. The following month, Sedjati finished second behind Mohamed Belbachir in an Algiers meeting on 7 May, clocking a new personal best of 1:45.86. Sedjati later ran in some French meetings, where he qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in the

after running a personal best of 1:44.91 in Strasbourg, France, on 16 June. He also ran as a pacemaker in subsequent meetings, helping compatriot Yassine Hethat qualify for the

in the same event. Upon arriving in Tokyo to compete in the Olympic 800 meters, Sedjati and his compatriot Bilal Tabti both tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on 24 July and were put into quarantine, forcing them to miss their Olympic event.

2022–2023

At the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

, Sedjati finished second in the 800m final, clocking 1:44.14 to win the silver medal. At the 2023 World Athletics Championshops, Sedjati made it into the 800m final, but was disqualified due to a lane violation.

2024: Paris Olympics, breaking 1:42

On 7 July, Sedjati won the 800m at the

Meeting de Paris Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Di ...

, running 1:41.56 to become, at the time, the third fastest man at the distance, behind

who ran 1:41.11 in 1997, and

, the current world record holder, who ran 1:40.91 at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Sedjati set in the process a new Algerian national record, replacing the previous record by

Taoufik Makhloufi Taoufik Makhloufi (; born 29 April 1988) is an Algerian athlete who specialises in middle-distance running. He became the 1500 metres Olympic champion at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. In 2016, Makhloufi took the silver medal in th ...

since the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

by more than a second. Five days later, at the Herculis Meeting in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, he won the 800 metres in a time of 1:41.46, thereby improving on his personal best from five days prior by a tenth of a second. Sedjati qualified for the 800 meter final, on 10 August at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, after missing the event in the previous Olympic cycle due to sickness. He reached the final after winning his race in both the heats and semi-final with times of 1:45:84 and 1:45.08, respectively. Sedjati had remained undefeated in the 2024 season until the Olympic final, where he finished third winning a bronze medal with a time of 1:41.50, behind silver medalist Marco Arop, who finished in 1:41.20, and gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who finished one hundredth of a second ahead of Arop in a time of 1:41.19. This shifted Sedjati from the third fastest to the fifth fastest man at 800m.

Personal bests

Outdoor * 300 metres – 34.51 (

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 ...

, 27 March 2021) *

600 metres The 600 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It is most often run at high school indoor track and field competitions. It is also run at the Penn Relays. All-time top 25 * i = indoor performa ...

– 1:14.36 NR ( Sasolburg (RSA), 11 March 2023) *

– 1:41.46 NR (

, 12 July 2024) *

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

- 2:13.97 ( Potchefstroom, South Africa, 5 March 2024) Indoor *

– 1:46.28 (

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

(ESP), 8 February 2022)

References

External links

* *
Djamel Sedjati
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics {{DEFAULTSORT:Sejati, Djamel 1999 births Living people Algerian male middle-distance runners Mediterranean Games gold medalists in athletics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Algeria Olympic athletes for Algeria Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Algerian sportsmen Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Algeria Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)