Assia El Hannouni (born May 30, 1981,[1] in Dijon)[2][3] is a French track and field athlete who specialises in the 800 metres Paralympic sprint. She has Retinitis pigmentosa[4] which means that she is almost blind, with less than one tenth vision in her left eye, and zero in her right eye. She also runs against athletes without disabilities, in 800m sprint events.[5][6]

Assia El Hannouni

El Hannouni in 2008
Medal record
Women's para athletics
Representing  France
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 100 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 200 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 400 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 800 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 200 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 400 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 100 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 200 m T12
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 800 m T12—13
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 1500 m T13

Representing her country at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, she won four gold medals, winning the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m sprints, and breaking the world record in each event.[6][7]

She represented France again at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and was the country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony.[8][9] She won silver in the 800m sprint (T13/12) with a time of 2’4’’96,[10][11] before winning silver in the 1500m, and gold in both the 200m and 400m sprints.[12]

In 2007, she set a new world record in the women's 800 metre sprint in her disability category, with a time of 2’6’’76.[5] The same year, she competed against non-disabled athletes in the 800 metres at the French national indoors championships, finishing fifth.[13]

As of 2007, El Hannouni is studying journalism at the Institut national du sport et de l'éducation physique (National Institute of Sport and Physical Education).[5]

In 2024 she was part of the Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, carrying the torch during its journey from Place de la Concorde to the Paralympics cauldron at the Tuileries Garden.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Assia El'Hannouni: Courir contre les ombres", Télé 7 Jours, September 6, 2008, p.54
  2. ^ "Le passe de quatre pour Assia El Hannouni" Archived 2018-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, Direction départementale de la jeunesse et des sports du Val-de-Marne
  3. ^ "la femme du jour Assia El Hannouni", L'Humanité, September 29, 2004
  4. ^ "Sprint queen El Hannouni bows out with gold". France24. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "Assia El Hannouni, le sens de la course", L'Humanité, June 27, 2007
  6. ^ a b "La Reine Assia", Fédération Française d'Athlétisme
  7. ^ "La France vise une soixantaine de médailles", Radio France Internationale, June 27, 2008
  8. ^ "La France vise une soixantaine de médailles", Radio France Internationale, June 27, 2008
  9. ^ "Jeux Paralympiques Pékin 2008 : Assia El Hannouni, porte drapeau de la délégation française", RTL, June 27, 2008
  10. ^ "Paralympiques - Les Français en demi-teinte" Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine, Le petit journal, September 10, 2008
  11. ^ "Results - Tuesday 9 September", BBC
  12. ^ List of French medallists Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, official website of the 2008 Paralympics
  13. ^ "Assia El-Hannouni voit l'avenir en courant"[permanent dead link], Marianne, February 24, 2008
  14. ^ Cousin, Victor (28 August 2024). "Paralympic opening ceremony: with El Hannouni, Lachaud and Hess, French legends in the spotlight". Le Parisien. Retrieved 28 August 2024.

YouTube

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