Algeria has been part of the Olympics since 1896 but they only sent a delegation under their own flag in 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. Their first-ever Olympian was gymnast Mohamed Lazhari. Algeria has sent athletes to the Summer Games since then except when they joined the 1976 boycott of the Summer Games in Montreal, Canada.
Their first-ever Olympic medals came when boxers Mustapha Moussa and Mohamed Zaoui both won bronze medals in Men's Light Heavyweight and Men's Middleweight respectively in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles.
Their first-ever Olympic gold came in 1992 when Hassiba Boulmerka, the first African woman to win a world title in Athletics, took the gold in women's 1500 meters in Barcelona, Spain. Boxer Hocine Soltani also won a medal when he placed third in men's featherweight. From that point on, Algerian Olympians have been taking home medals in every Summer Games except in the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece.
They also have started sending athletes to the Winter Games in 1992 held in Albertville, France. They missed the next two Winter Games then sent two athletes in the 2006 Turin Olympics. Christelle Laura Douibi represented Algeria for both Women's downhill (ranked 40) and Women's super-G (ranked 51 overall).
Trivia
- The winner of the 1928 Olympic marathon was Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi, an Algerian athlete who represented France (as during that time Algeria was part of France). In 1956, another Algerian born representing France won, Alain Mimoun.
- Algeria's first official gold medal was won by Hassiba Boulmerka, when she won the women's 1500 meters in 1992.
- Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef were banned from the sport for 10 years after Nourine withdrew from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.
Related Pages
- Algeria at the Winter Olympics
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Algeria