 Ahmed Boughera El Ouafi in 1928 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1898-10-15)15 October 1898 Ouled Djellal,French Algeria | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 18 October 1959(1959-10-18) (aged 61) Saint-Denis, France | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | France | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Long-distance running | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi (Arabic:أحمد بوقرة الوافي; 15 October 1898 – 18 October 1959) was a French Algerianathlete who won the1928 Olympic Marathon.[1]
.jpg)
El Ouafi was born in the town ofOuled Djellal, joining theFrench military regiment later (at that time, Algeria was part ofFrench Algeria). One of his superior officers noticed El Ouafi's athletic abilities and decided to send him to a military sports competition in mainland France.[2]
He became a factory worker atRenault inBoulogne-Billancourt near Paris and in 1924 became a France marathon champion, thus qualifying for the1924 Olympic marathon.[2]
Boughèra El Ouafi completed his firstOlympic marathon, running for France, in seventh position. He became a France marathon champion for the second and last time in 1928, thus qualifying for the1928 Olympic marathon.[2]
In the 1928 competition, he ran behind the leaders for the first three quarters of the race, overtaking them some 5 km before the end. He finished first, 26 seconds ahead of second-placedManuel Plaza fromChile. El Ouafi was the only representative of French athletics to win gold at the 1928 Olympics.[2]
After his surprise victory, El Ouafi toured theUnited States. However, the money he earned with this trip disqualified him as an amateur athlete, causing him to leave the sport, and he opened a cafe inParis. El Ouafi remained forgotten until 1956, when another Algerian,Alain Mimoun, also won the Olympic marathon. Reporters went to seek out the other Algerian who had won 28 years earlier and found him a pauper.[2]
El Ouafi was killed while in a café in 1959, three days after his 61st birthday. Accounts of his death vary. French media then said that he was targeted by members of theNational Liberation Front after he had refused to support them; other accounts say he was a bystander victim of an argument between family members and revolutionaries, or was killed during a family quarrel.[2] TheLouafi Bouguera Olympic Bridge was named in his honor in 2024.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
