Day 13: Algerian men, Moroccan women advance in athletics

21/08/2008

Two Moroccan women qualified for the 1500m finals, while two Algerian men moved ahead in the 800m event.

Mona Yahia in Tunis, Mawassi Lahcen in Casablanca and Nazim Fethi in Algiers contributed to this report – 21/08/08

[Getty Images] Algeria's Nabil Madi came in first in his heat of the 800m men's semi-finals on Day 13 of the Beijing Olympics.

Tunisian freestyle wrestler Adnan Rhimi was eliminated in the first round of the 84kg contests on Thursday (August 21st), losing 4-1 to Armenia's Harutyun Yenokyan. Rhimi noted at the conclusion of the match that he could was unable to get into the spirit of the match against the spectacularly fit Armenian, especially given the friction of the mat. He added that he was not at his best, and that he went through the game feeling shackled.

In athletics, Morocco's Siham Hilali and Btissam Lakhouad qualified to the final round of the women 1500m race, scheduled for Saturday (August 23rd). Both runners came in third in their respective heats during Thursday's semi-finals. Morocco's Bouchra Chaabi finished last in her group, failing to qualify. Algerian Nihada Touhami's hopes for advancement evaporated when she placed 11th in her heat of the semi-finals.

In the men's 800m race, Algeria's Nabil Madi and Nadjim Manseur both pulled off qualifications to the final. Madi came in first in his heat, with a time of 1:45.63, while Nadjim Manseur placed 4th in his group, although with a faster time of 1:45.54. The two athletes hope to relive the success of Guerni Said Djabir, who took the bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and became world champion in Paris in 2003. Moroccan hopeful Amine Laalou came in fourth in his heat and did not qualify to the last round of competition.

Looking ahead, Morocco's Mouna Benabderrassoul will face off against Japan's Yoriko Okamoto in the -67kg category of the taekwondo competition on Friday. Abderrassoul said she hopes to show that she deserves her title of African Champion after making it to the quarter-finals of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.