 Souad Aït Salem in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1979-01-06)6 January 1979 (age 46) Mécheria, Algeria |
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft5+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 50 kg (110 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Algeria |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Marathon |
Souad Aït Salem, also known asSouad Aït Mahour-Bacha (born 6 January 1979 inMécheria, Algeria) is an Algerian long-distance runner who specializes mainly in thehalf marathon andmarathon. She won gold in the10,000 metres at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics and the2005 Mediterranean Games.[1] Salem also won the gold in the half marathon at the2007 All-Africa Games. She holds theAlgerian records for every women's event between3000 metres and the marathon distance.
Her first appearance on the world stage was in the junior race at the1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she finished in 98th place. Salem reached the top fifty at the2000 and2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She ran in the5000 metres at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and the2004 Summer Olympics but did not progress beyond her heat in either competition.
After winning theUniversiade cross country competition, Salem switched to the marathon distance in 2006 and the move paid off: she won the 2006Alexander The Great Marathon inThessaloniki. She won the women's race at the 13thRome Marathon on 18 March 2007. Her time was 2:25:08 hrs was a new course record.[2] She finished 9th in the women's marathon at the2008 Beijing Olympics, with a time of 2:28:29 hrs.[3] At the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, she finished 16th in the marathon race. She finished sixth at theLondon Marathon in 2008 and went on to finish in ninth place in thewomen's marathon race at the2008 Beijing Olympics.
After a long break from competition, she ran her first marathon in almost four years at thePrague Marathon. She finished in fourth place with a time of 2:27:21 hours.[4] She raced in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing in 37th place.[5]
In 2017 she tested positive forTorasemide and was banned from competition for 18 months between 11 March 2017 and 8 October 2018.[6]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Algeria | |||||
| 2000 | African Championships | Algiers,Algeria | 1st | 10,000 m | |
| 2002 | African Championships | Radès, Tunisia | 5th | 10,000 m | |
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 24th (h) | 5000 m | 15:34.64 |
| 2004 | Pan Arab Games | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | 5000 m | |
| 1st | 10,000 m | ||||
| 1st | Half marathon | ||||
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 33rd (h) | 5000 m | 16:02.10 | |
| – | 10,000 m | DNF | |||
| 2005 | Mediterranean Games | Almería, Spain | 4th | 5000 m | 15:31.34 |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 32:55.48 | |||
| 2006 | World Road Running Championships | Debrecen, Hungary | 9th | 20 km | 1:06:11 PB |
| 2007 | All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | Half Marathon | 1:13:35 |
| Rome City Marathon | Rome, Italy | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:08NR | |
| World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 16th | Marathon | 2:35:09 | |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 9th | Marathon | 2:28:29 |
| 2011 | Pan Arab Games | Doha, Qatar | 4th | Half marathon | 1:15:13 |
| 2013 | Mediterranean Games | Mersin, Turkey | 3rd | 10,000 m | 33:19:34 |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | — | Marathon | DNF |
| 2022 | Mediterranean Games | Oran, Algeria | 9th | 5000 m | 16:21.60 |
| 2023 | Arab Games | Oran, Algeria | – | 10,000 m | DNF |
African Champions in women's10,000 metres | |
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