Noureddine Morceli
Encyclopedia
Noureddine Morceli ' onMouseout='HidePop("77843")' href="/topics/Ténès">Ténès
, Chlef Province
) is a retired Algeria
n athlete, winner of the 1500 m run at the 1996 Summer Olympics
. Born in Ténès
, Noureddine Morceli rose to athletic prominence after winning the silver medal in the 1500 m at the World Junior Championships in 1988
. Morceli attended college in Riverside, California
, and throughout his career, in winter, he would return there to enjoy the mild climate and train.
who ran for Algeria in the Moscow Olympics of 1980
and in Los Angeles in 1984
.
Currently, Morceli serves as an ambassador of the sport by assisting with the International Olympic Commission, the African Games, as well as assisting the development of young track and field athletes in Algeria.
on February 28, setting a new mark of 3:34.16. Only nine days later, on the same track, he won the 1500 m title at the World Indoor Championships. Throughout the outdoor season 1991 Morceli remained undefeated over 1500 m. At several Grand Prix meetings he ran times around 3:31 min. At the World Championships
in Tokyo
, Morceli was already a clear favourite for the 1500 m and he won easily. He set a new World Championships record (3:32.84) and finished with a remarkable two-second-lead between him and the silver medallist Wilfred Kirochi (Kenya).
In the beginning of 1992, Morceli ran a new 1000 m indoor world record of 2:15.26. There seemed to be no greater certainty for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona
later that year than Morceli. But prior to the Olympic Games Morceli lost unexpectedly to Gennaro di Napoli
in Rome and David Kibet
in Oslo. There were signs that he was not in the same shape as the year before. However, in the Olympic semi-final he looked strong. The Olympic final was run at a woefully slow pace, with the field passing through the 800 m mark in a slower time than in the women's final. That was not the sort of pace to which Morceli had become accustomed, or that he was comfortable with, and when the frantic sprint for home began, he found himself unable to respond, eventually finishing a disappointing seventh. Only three days after the final Morceli set a world season's best in Monaco and a week later he broke his personal best to win in Zurich in 3:30.76. In September 1992 Morceli set a new 1500 m world record of 3:28.86 in Rieti.
, the final of 1500 m started at a relatively slow pace, but Morceli was always in complete control, sprinting away in the last lap to win easily and retain his world title. In the following weeks he failed twice to set a new world record over the Mile in Berlin and Brussels. But just two days after the race in Brussels he astonished everyone by crushing the old record with a time of 3:44.39.
In 1994, he set the new 3000 m world record, clocking 7:25.11. He also experimented successfully with the 5000 m. In Zurich he outsprinted the rest of the field to take the victory and also won the 5000 m race in Rieti. The only defeat of the season came when Morceli opted for an unusual 800 m appearance in Cologne. Morceli broke the 2000 m world record in the following season, setting a new mark of 4:47.88. Nine days later Morceli set the last world record of his magnificent career, when he lowered his own 1500 m record to 3:27.37 in Nice. Only a few days after this he almost broke the record again when he triumphed in 3:27.52 in Monaco. Later on that year he defended easily the 1500 m World Champion title in Gothenburg
. Shortly after, Morceli tried to improve on his Mile record in Zurich but did not succeed.
won in Hengelo in a time of 3:29.51. At the 1996 Summer Olympics
, Morceli was under enormous pressure. The final was run at an average pace when his main rival, Hicham El Guerrouj, fell down on the final lap. Morceli accelerated and crossed the line first ahead of the defending Olympic champion, Fermín Cacho
. At the end of 1996 Morceli suffered his first 1500 m defeat in four years at the hands of El Guerrouj in Milan. In the 1997 World Championships at Athens
, Morceli was fourth in 1500 m and in 1999, at Seville, he qualified for his fifth straight 1500 m final at a World Championships, where he dropped out at the bell while well out of medal contention. Morceli's last appearance at a major international championships was at the 2000 Olympic Games
in Sydney
.
Ténès
Tenes is an Algerian seaside resort located about 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers; it has a population of 35,000 people, .-History:Ténès is an ancient town which existed in the 8th century BC. It was called Kartenas at that time...
, Chlef Province
Chlef Province
Chlef is a province in Algeria, and has about 1 million inhabitants. Its capital is Chlef. Another locality is Ténès, on the Mediterranean Sea.-Administrative divisions:...
) is a retired Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n athlete, winner of the 1500 m run at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. Born in Ténès
Ténès
Tenes is an Algerian seaside resort located about 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers; it has a population of 35,000 people, .-History:Ténès is an ancient town which existed in the 8th century BC. It was called Kartenas at that time...
, Noureddine Morceli rose to athletic prominence after winning the silver medal in the 1500 m at the World Junior Championships in 1988
1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1988 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada from July 27 to July 31, 1988....
. Morceli attended college in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, and throughout his career, in winter, he would return there to enjoy the mild climate and train.
Career
Morceli was coached by his brother AbderrahmaneAbderrahmane Morceli
Abderrahmane Morceli is a retired Algerian middle distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres.He is a brother of Noureddine Morceli. At the 1979 Mediterranean Games he won a bronze medal in the 1500 metres and a silver medal in the 800 metres. He also won the bronze medal at the 1977 Summer...
who ran for Algeria in the Moscow Olympics of 1980
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
and in Los Angeles in 1984
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
.
Currently, Morceli serves as an ambassador of the sport by assisting with the International Olympic Commission, the African Games, as well as assisting the development of young track and field athletes in Algeria.
1990–1992
In 1990, he moved up to senior class and set the seasons best mark of 3:37.87 in 1500 m. He continued this dominance into 1991, when he broke the world indoor record for 1500 m at SevilleSeville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
on February 28, setting a new mark of 3:34.16. Only nine days later, on the same track, he won the 1500 m title at the World Indoor Championships. Throughout the outdoor season 1991 Morceli remained undefeated over 1500 m. At several Grand Prix meetings he ran times around 3:31 min. At the World Championships
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Morceli was already a clear favourite for the 1500 m and he won easily. He set a new World Championships record (3:32.84) and finished with a remarkable two-second-lead between him and the silver medallist Wilfred Kirochi (Kenya).
In the beginning of 1992, Morceli ran a new 1000 m indoor world record of 2:15.26. There seemed to be no greater certainty for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
later that year than Morceli. But prior to the Olympic Games Morceli lost unexpectedly to Gennaro di Napoli
Gennaro Di Napoli
Gennaro Di Napoli is an Italian former middle distance runner.Di Napoli was born in Naples but moved early in his life to Lombardy, in northern Italy. He excelled in the distances from 800 to 3,000 meters....
in Rome and David Kibet
David Kibet
David Kibet is a former Kenyan middle distance runner who won a bronze medal at the African Championships 1990 over 1500 m. Kibet finished tenth in the 1992 Summer Olympics final and seventh in the 1991 World Championships. His greatest achievement was the victory in the Oslo Dream Mile 1992 where...
in Oslo. There were signs that he was not in the same shape as the year before. However, in the Olympic semi-final he looked strong. The Olympic final was run at a woefully slow pace, with the field passing through the 800 m mark in a slower time than in the women's final. That was not the sort of pace to which Morceli had become accustomed, or that he was comfortable with, and when the frantic sprint for home began, he found himself unable to respond, eventually finishing a disappointing seventh. Only three days after the final Morceli set a world season's best in Monaco and a week later he broke his personal best to win in Zurich in 3:30.76. In September 1992 Morceli set a new 1500 m world record of 3:28.86 in Rieti.
1993–1995
In 1993 Morceli narrowly missed his own world record when he won the Mediterranean Games in Narbonne in 3:29.20 min. By that time Morceli had set himself a new aim: to break Steve Cram's eight-year-old record over the Mile (3:46.32). Throughout the season he was virtually without any serious competitors. In Monaco he narrowly missed the 3000 m world record. There was even talk that he might skip the World Championships in order to concentrate fully on the world-record hunt. However, in the end he decided to take part. At the World Championships in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, the final of 1500 m started at a relatively slow pace, but Morceli was always in complete control, sprinting away in the last lap to win easily and retain his world title. In the following weeks he failed twice to set a new world record over the Mile in Berlin and Brussels. But just two days after the race in Brussels he astonished everyone by crushing the old record with a time of 3:44.39.
In 1994, he set the new 3000 m world record, clocking 7:25.11. He also experimented successfully with the 5000 m. In Zurich he outsprinted the rest of the field to take the victory and also won the 5000 m race in Rieti. The only defeat of the season came when Morceli opted for an unusual 800 m appearance in Cologne. Morceli broke the 2000 m world record in the following season, setting a new mark of 4:47.88. Nine days later Morceli set the last world record of his magnificent career, when he lowered his own 1500 m record to 3:27.37 in Nice. Only a few days after this he almost broke the record again when he triumphed in 3:27.52 in Monaco. Later on that year he defended easily the 1500 m World Champion title in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. Shortly after, Morceli tried to improve on his Mile record in Zurich but did not succeed.
1996–2000
At the start of the 1996 season, Morceli set a world season's best of 3:29.50. However, a new and serious opponent suddenly appeared on the scene, when Hicham El GuerroujHicham El Guerrouj
Hicham El Guerrouj "King of the Mile" is a Moroccan former middle distance runner...
won in Hengelo in a time of 3:29.51. At the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, Morceli was under enormous pressure. The final was run at an average pace when his main rival, Hicham El Guerrouj, fell down on the final lap. Morceli accelerated and crossed the line first ahead of the defending Olympic champion, Fermín Cacho
Fermín Cacho
Fermín Cacho Ruiz is a Spanish athlete, winner of the 1500 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics.Born in Ágreda, Spain, Cacho had an enviable competitive record in the 1500 m, but it wasn't until late in his career that he produced a time of corresponding quality.Cacho's first notable result came in...
. At the end of 1996 Morceli suffered his first 1500 m defeat in four years at the hands of El Guerrouj in Milan. In the 1997 World Championships at 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...
, Morceli was fourth in 1500 m and in 1999, at Seville, he qualified for his fifth straight 1500 m final at a World Championships, where he dropped out at the bell while well out of medal contention. Morceli's last appearance at a major international championships was at the 2000 Olympic Games
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.