Ghada Shouaa
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| Born | September 10, 1972 Mhardeh, Hama Governorate, Syria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Ghada Shouaa (Arabic: غادة شعاع; born September 10, 1972) is a retired Syrian heptathlete. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won her country's first and only Olympic gold medal.[1]
Biography[]
Born in the small Syrian city of Mhardeh in the Hama Governorate, Shouaa's first sport was basketball.[2] She played on the Syrian national team for a few years, but then decided to compete in athletics. She did her first heptathlon in 1991, and was immediately sent to the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, where she placed last.[2] She concluded her first athletics season with a silver medal in the Asian championships.
Shouaa debuted at the Olympics in the 1992 Barcelona Games, placing 25th in spite of an injury. Her breakthrough did not come until 1995, when she won the important heptathlon meet in Götzis, scoring 6715 points. This boosted her to one of the favourites for the title at the 1995 World Championships, held in Gothenburg. After co-favorite Sabine Braun dropped out with an injury, Shouaa won the title with a comfortable margin.[2]
The following season, Shouaa again won the Götzis meet, bringing the still-standing Asian record to 6942 points. In Atlanta, three months later, she confirmed her status as the best heptathlete at the time, winning Syria's first Olympic gold medal.[2]
A serious injury ruined the following season, and she was unable to make a serious comeback until 1999, when she placed third at the World Championships behind Eunice Barber.[2] Shouaa attempted to defend her Olympic title in Sydney, but she again became injured and did not even finish the first event.[2] After this disappointment, she decided to retire from athletics.
Civil War in Syria[]
During a visit to Syria in 2013 or 2014 in the midst of civil war, Shouaa appeared in a picture with a heavy machine gun while accompanying the National Defence Forces, a branch of Syrian Armed Forces.[3] In a speech, Shouaa greeted the Syrian Arab Army, saying the army's motto 'Homeland, Honor, Honesty' represents "each and every honest Syrian from which he/she draws the ability for steadfastness and making achievements for Syria's sake".[4]
She now lives in Germany.[5]
Competition record[]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Syria
| |||||
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 24th | Heptathlon | 5066 pts |
| Asian Championships | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2nd | Heptathlon | 5425 pts | |
| Arab Championships | Latakia, Syria | 1st | High jump | 1.60 m | |
| 1st | Long jump | 5.50 m | |||
| 1st | Javelin throw | 41.92 m | |||
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 25th | Heptathlon | 5278 pts |
| 1993 | Mediterranean Games | Narbonne, France | 8th | Long jump | 6.13 m |
| 2nd | Heptathlon | 6168 pts | |||
| World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | – | Heptathlon | DNF | |
| Arab Championships | Latakia, Syria | 1st | 800 m | 2:14.7 | |
| 1st | 100 m hurdles | 14.44 s | |||
| 1st | High jump | 1.75 m | |||
| 1st | Long jump | 6.07 m | |||
| 1st | Javelin throw | 50.54 m | |||
| Asian Championships | Manila, Philippines | 1st | Heptathlon | 6259 pts | |
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | St. Petersburg, Russia | 3rd | Heptathlon | 6361 pts |
| Asian Games | Hiroshima, Japan | 1st | Heptathlon | 6360 pts | |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 1st | Heptathlon | 6651 pts |
| Arab Championships | Cairo, Egypt | 1st | High jump | 1.80 m | |
| 1st | Long jump | 6.64 m | |||
| 1st | Javelin throw | 53.72 m | |||
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 1st | Heptathlon | 6780 pts |
| 1999 | Pan Arab Games | Amman, Jordan | 1st | High jump | 1.78 m |
| 2nd | Long jump | 6.19 m | |||
| 2nd | Shot put | 16.25 m | |||
| 1st | Javelin throw | 55.14 m | |||
| World Championships | Seville, Spain | 3rd | Heptathlon | 6500 pts | |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | – | Heptathlon | DNF |
See also[]
- List of Syrian people
References[]
- ^ "Ghada Shouaa". Olympics.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Ghada Shouaa". Damascus-Online.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
- ^ "بعد أن "طفشها" نظام الأسد... غادة شعاع تتحول من بطلة أولمبية إلى "رامية دوشكا" في الدفاع الوطني (صور) | عكس السير دوت كوم". www.aksalser.com.
- ^ "Olympic champion Shouaa: I returned home to work for a brighter future for #Syria". Syrian Arab News Agency SANA – Facebook. 16 August 2013.
- ^ "Syrian sports heroine laments her country's ill treatment". Arab News. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
External links[]
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- 1972 births
- Living people
- Olympic athletes of Syria
- Syrian heptathletes
- Syrian female athletes
- Olympic gold medalists for Syria
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Asian Games gold medalists for Syria
- Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Syria
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
- Syrian Christians
- Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games
- Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Syria
- Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1993 Mediterranean Games
- People from Hama Governorate
- World Athletics Championships winners
- Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games