Souad Aït Salem, also known as Souad Aït Mahour-Bacha (born 6 January 1979 in

Mécheria Mécheria is a city situated in Naâma Province, Algeria in the Atlas Mountains, capital of Mécheria District, known for its cold winter and livestock life. As of 2020, it had a population of around 120,000, making it the most populous commune in ...

, Algeria) is an Algerian long-distance runner who specializes mainly in the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. She won gold in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics and the

2005 Mediterranean Games The XVth Mediterranean Games Almería 2005 (XV Juegos del Mediterráneo 2005 in Spanish), commonly known as the 2005 Mediterranean Games, were the 15th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Almería, Spain over 10 days, from 24 June to 3 Ju ...

. Salem also won the gold in the half marathon 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 ...

. She holds the Algerian records for every women's event between

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

and the marathon distance. Her first appearance on the world stage was in the junior race at the 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she finished in 98th place. Salem reached the top fifty at the

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 ...

and

2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 12th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 4, 2003 in Vilamoura, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the west ...

. She ran in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

but did not progress beyond her heat in either competition. After winning the

Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...

cross country competition, Salem switched to the marathon distance in 2006 and the move paid off: she won the 2006 Alexander The Great Marathon in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. She won the women's race at the 13th

Rome Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the t ...

on 18 March 2007. Her time was 2:25:08 hrs was a new course record. She finished 9th in the women's marathon at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, with a time of 2:28:29 hrs. At the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, she finished 16th in the marathon race. She finished sixth at the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

in 2008 and went on to finish in ninth place in the women's marathon race at the

. After a long break from competition, she ran her first marathon in almost four years at the

Prague Marathon The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a significant event, being awarded IAAF G ...

. She finished in fourth place with a time of 2:27:21 hours. She raced in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing in 37th place. In 2017 she tested positive for

Torasemide Torasemide, also known as torsemide, is a diuretic medication used to treat hypervolemia, fluid overload due to heart failure, kidney disease, and liver disease. It is a less preferred treatment for high blood pressure. It is taken by mouth or ...

and was banned from competition for 18 months between 11 March 2017 and 8 October 2018.

Personal bests

– 8:47.99 min (2006) *5000 metres – 15:07.49 min (2006) *

– 32:13.15 min (2004) *20 kilometres – 1:06:11 hrs (2006) *

Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

– 1:09:15 hrs (2008) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

– 2:25:08 hrs (2007)

Achievements

References

External links