 Makhloufi in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | توفيق مخلوفي |
| Nationality | Algeria |
| Born | (1988-04-29)29 April 1988 (age 37) |
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1] |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Country | Algeria |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Middle-distance running |
| Club | GS Pétroliers |
| Coached by | Jama Aden (2012–14);[2] Philippe Dupont (2015–) |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests |
|
Taoufik Makhloufi (Arabic:توفيق مخلوفي; born 29 April 1988) is anAlgerianathlete who specialises inmiddle-distance running. He became the1500 metres Olympic champion at the2012 Summer Olympics in London,England. In 2016, Makhloufi took thesilver medal in the800m and1500 m at theSummer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[3]
He was also the800 metres gold medallist at the2012 African Championships and the2011 All-Africa Games. He has represented Algeria three times at theWorld Championships in Athletics. His personal bests are 1:42.61 for the 800 m, set at the 2016 Olympics, and 3:28.75 for the 1500 metres.[4] He trains withGS Pétroliers.[5]
Born inSouk Ahras, Makhloufi made his international debut at the2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he finished 82nd in the 8 km junior race.[6] He began competing at the senior level in 2009 and at the2009 Mediterranean Games he placed fourth in the 1500 metres.[7] An appearance at theGolden Gala meeting followed soon after and he ran a personal best of 3:34.34 minutes. He won his first national title that year and represented his country at the2009 World Championships in Athletics, where he was a semi-finalist.[4] In 2010 he improved his best to 3:32.94 minutes at theHerculis meeting and ranked among the top twenty that year.[8] He reached the 1500 m final at the2010 African Championships in Athletics, but failed to finish.[9]
Makhloufi's fastest run of 2011 (3:34.4 minutes) came at a national meeting inAlgiers and he competed twice on the2011 Diamond League circuit (inDoha andStockholm). After taking his second Algerian 1500 m title, he was again selected for theWorld Championships team and again reached the semi-final stage.[4] It was at the2011 All-Africa Games that he made his international breakthrough. He won the 1500 mbronze medal behind Kenyan opposition, then defeated the much more favouredBoaz Kiplagat Lalang in the 800 metres final to take his first continentalgold medal.[10][11]
Following this success he began to compete more frequently in the 800 m in the 2012 season. His first 1500 m race of the season was a runner-up finish at theRabat Meeting and he improved his 800 m best to 1:44.88 minutes in Stockholm.[12] Building upon his previous African title, a tactical mistake by the leading Kenyan runners helped Makhloufi win the 800 m title at the2012 African Championships in Athletics, setting a personal best of 1:43.88 minutes in the process.[13] On 20 July he set a new personal best at the 1500 m at Herculis meeting in Monaco with a time 3:30.80.
He achieved thequalifying standard for the1500 m and 800 m and was entered in both races at the2012 Summer Olympics. He reached the 1500 m final after winning his heat and semi-final. The Algerian Olympic Association had failed to withdraw him from the 800 m event, which he no longer wished to compete in, and he was forced to enter the race. Makhloufi slowed and dropped out in the early stages of his 800 m – a performance that led to him being disqualified from the Games as theIAAF referee "considered that he had not provided a bona fide effort". However, he was re-instated after producing an independent medical certificate showing that an ailment had hampered his efforts.[14] The following day, Makhloufi won the 1500 m Olympic final with a time of 3:34.08 minutes, clocking the last lap in 52.76 sec defeating among others the reigning Olympic championAsbel Kiprop.[15][16] This performance surprised critics given his previous medical statement and the quality of the field. Makhloufi explained that his improvements stemmed from a change of coach and his intensive training that year.[17][18]
In early June 2013, while in preparation inBarcelona for the2013 World Championships in Athletics, he contracted liver disease (hepatitis A) and was hospitalized on June 12.[19][20] He only ran the Mile race inEugene, Oregon on June 1, 2013[21] and later announced not participating at the world championships in Moscow that year.[22]
In February 2014, he started his preparation in the US,[23] and later in Iten (Kenya), joiningMohamed Farah’s training team.[24] Later that year, he ran several races, setting new personal bests in the 1500 m in the in the Doha Diamond League meeting on May 9th with a time of 3:30.40 (finishing fourth in a race won byAsbel Kiprop), and the 800 m in Berlin, with 1:43.53 on August 31st (finishing second toMohamed Aman).[25]
On 1 July 2015, he won the European Athletics Classic meet 1000m in Tomblaine, France in a new Algerian record of 2:13.08 beating the existing record set byNoureddine Morceli since 1993.[26]
On 15 August 2016, he set a new personal best and Algerian record in the 800m final at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with a time of 1:42:61, finishing second behindDavid Rudisha from Kenya.[27] Only 8 hours later, he started the qualifying rounds of the 1500 m, reaching the final, where he won his second silver medal of the Olympics (and third overall) behindMatthew Centrowitz in a slow tactical race.[28][29]
Makhloufi missed the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons due to injury and couldn't take part of the2017 World Athletics Championships in London. He finished second behind KenyanTimothy Cheruiyot in the 1500 m at the2019 World Championships in Athletics inDoha winning his first medal at a world championship with a season best time of 3:31.38.[30]
In 2019, Makhloufi was awarded the Medal of Order of Merit by the Algerian government as a compensation of his outstanding sport career representing Algeria in international competitions.[31]
In March 2020, Makhloufi travelled toSouth Africa to prepare for the planned2020 Summer Olympics on high altitude, but was trapped by the pandemic and was unable to return to Algeria until late July 2020.[32] Makhloufi expressed his anger on social media and criticized the Algerian authorities for not doing their best to get him back after the Olympics were postponed. He dismissed his training camp planned in Mexico on January 10, 2021[33] due to aninjury that he was treating in Algeria and continued his preparations for the2020 Summer Olympics where he qualified for the 1500 m event after achieving the qualification standard in the2019 World Athletics Championships.[34] Though he had not raced since October 2019, Makhloufi was entered to run in the 1500 metres event at the2020 Summer Olympics; however before the start of competition he withdrew due to a knee injury.[35]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Algeria | |||||
| 2007 | World Cross Country Championships | Mombasa, Kenya | 82nd | Junior race | |
| 2009 | Mediterranean Games | Pescara, Italy | 4th | 1500 m | 3:39.37 |
| World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 17th (sf) | 1500 m | 3:37.87 | |
| 2010 | African Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 12th | 1500 m | DNF |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 24th (sf) | 1500 m | 3:50.86 |
| All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | 1st | 800 m | 1:46:32 | |
| 3rd | 1500 m | 3:39.99 | |||
| 2012 | African Championships | Porto-Novo, Benin | 1st | 800 m | 1:43.88 |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 1500 m | 3:34.08 | |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 4th | 1500 m | 3:34.76 |
| African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | 2nd | 800 m | 1:50.72 | |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2nd | 800 m | 1:42.61NR |
| 2nd | 1500 m | 3:50.11 | |||
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:31.38 |
|
African Champions in men's800 metres | |
|---|---|
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