Day 8: Maghreb boxers and runners advance

2008-08-17

Maghreb hopes on the eighth day of the Olympics were pinned on athletics and boxing events. Moroccan runner Hasna Benhassi pleased fans with her qualification to the 800m finals and Algerian featherweight boxer Abdelkader Chadi advanced to the quarter finals.

Mawassi Lahcen and Naoufel Dekkaki in Casablanca, Nazim Fethi in Algiers and Mona Yahia in Tunis contributed to this report – 17/08/08

[Mawassi Lahcen] Morocco's Hasna Benhassi (left) qualified to the finals of the women's 800m race on Day 8 of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Moroccan track star Hasna Benhassi, the only Maghreb runner in the women's 800m race, qualified to the finals after finishing just behind Kenya's Pamela Jelimo in the semi-finals. Benhassi was among the top five runners throughout the race, but in the last stretch, she tore ahead of her competitors, glancing left and right as top Moroccan runners often do as they near the finish line.

The 18-year-old Kenyan finished with a time of 1:57.31, but Benhassi was a close second at 1:58.03, her season’s best.

"The race was very strong," Benhassi noted. "For me, it was perhaps the fiercest this year, competing against four of the best world racers, topped by Kenya's Pamela Jelimo, whom I knew would go full speed 300m from the finish line."

"Kenyan Pamela Jelimo is undisputedly the strongest in this contest. I believe the gold medal will not go to any other racer," Benhassi added. The final race in the 800m will be held on Monday.

In the men's 3,000m steeplechase, Morocco's Abdelkader Hachlaf qualified for the final after finishing third, behind Moroccan-born Frenchman Bouabdellah Tahri and Kenya's Kipruto Brimin Kiprop. Morocco's Brahim Taleb and Hamid Ezzine and Algeria's Rabia Makhloufi did not move on to the next round.

Algerian runners Tarek Boukensa and Antar Zerguelaine advanced in the men's 1500m.

Tunisia's Hatem Ghoula finished 27th in the men's 20km walk event, with a time of 1:23.44. Ghoula expressed dissatisfaction with his performance, noting that he had been looking forward to a stronger position. His teammate Hassanine Sebai and Algeria's Mohamed Ameur also failed to qualify for the next round.

In the women's marathon, Algeria's Souad Ait Salem came in 9th place.

In the women’s pole vault, Tunisia's Leila bin Youssef failed to qualify for the finals after ending the first group qualifications in 14th place. Bin Youssef noted that she had done her best to achieve her personal best and that her competition was top-ranked and experienced.

[Mawassi Lahcen] Morocco's Abdelkader Hachlaf celebrates qualifying for the final in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

In the long jump, Yahya Berrabah and Tarik Bouguetaib, the only two Moroccans participating in this sport, failed to qualify to the next round. Algeria's Baya Rahouli was eliminated from the triple jump event.

Tunisian boxer Walid Chérif qualified to the men’s +51 kg quarter final after crushing his Korean opponent Oksung Lee 11-5 on points. Cherif is due to fight Italy's Picardi Vincenzo on Wednesday August 20th.

In a featherweight bout Saturday afternoon, Algeria's Abdelkader Chadi advanced to the +57kg quarterfinals after outlasting Thailand’s Sailom Adi 7-6. He will next face Turkey's Yakup Kiliç.

In the super-heavyweight +91kg category, Morocco's Mohammed Arjaoui advanced to the semis after defeating Deontay Wilder of the US in the quarter-finals.

Algeria's Nabil Kassel failed to advance in the +75 kg competition. His boxing adventure ended in the fourth round on Saturday, when he lost to Ireland's Darren John Sutherland. Tunisian female freestyle wrestler Marwa Amri lost to Colombia's Jackeline Renteria in the 55kg category.

The Algerian women's volleyball team lost 1-3 by sets to Kazakhstan.