Assia El Hannouni
Encyclopedia
Assia El Hannouni, born May 30, 1981 in Dijon
, is a French
track and field
athlete who specialises in the 800 metres Paralympic sprint
. 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.
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.
She represented France
again at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
in Beijing
, and was the country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony. She won silver in the 800m sprint (T13/12) with a time of 2’4’’96, before winning silver in the 1500m, and gold in both the 200m and 400m sprints.
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. The same year, she competed against non-disabled athletes in the 800 metres at the French national indoors championships, finishing fifth.
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).
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who specialises in the 800 metres Paralympic sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
. She is almost blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, 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.
Representing her country at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, she won four gold medals, winning the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m sprints, and breaking the world record in each event.
She represented France
France at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
France sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. France sent 119 athletes, who competed in 13 sports: athletics, rowing, cycling, equestrian, wheelchair fencing, weightlifting, judo, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair tennis, shooting, archery and sailing...
again at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and was the country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony. She won silver in the 800m sprint (T13/12) with a time of 2’4’’96, before winning silver in the 1500m, and gold in both the 200m and 400m sprints.
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. The same year, she competed against non-disabled athletes in the 800 metres at the French national indoors championships, finishing fifth.
As of 2007, El Hannouni is studying journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at the Institut national du sport et de l'éducation physique (National Institute of Sport and Physical Education).
External links
- Assia El Hannouni on the IAAF website