Bibiro Ali Taher (born 24 April 1988) is a

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

ian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. She moved from Chad to France aged five, and took up athletics aged seven in

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

, France. She competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

but did not finish her race. She was the flag bearer for Chad at the

Parade of Nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

Early life

Bibiro Ali Taher moved with her parents from Chad to

Hérouville-Saint-Clair Hérouville-Saint-Clair () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is a suburb of the city of Caen, and lies adjacent to it in a northeasterly direction, along the west side of the Canal de Cae ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, France, when she was aged seven. When she was 20, she began to pursue athletics, first at a college in Saint-Michel and then moved to

Sotteville-lès-Rouen Sotteville-lès-Rouen (, literally ''Sotteville near Rouen'') is a commune and railway town in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography It is the largest suburb of the city of Rouen and adjacent to it, som ...

where she was offered a sports scholarship. While pursuing her athletics career, Taher became a stewardess for

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

Athletic career

This attracted the attention of the Chadian sporting officials, who arranged for Taher to visit training facilities in Kenya once a year for the following six years. This meant that she could train alongside the Kenyan middle-distance runners. Taher was the flag bearer for the Chadian team at the 2016 Games, with the team consisting of her and

Bachir Mahamat Bachir Mahamat (born 1 December 1996) is a Chadian Sprint (running), sprinter. He competed in the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres, men's 400 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics. Internation ...

. She took part in the

on 16 August in the second heat. A mistake meant that she did not complete her race; Taher passed the line on her second to last lap and heard the bell indicating the final lap for the athletes a whole lap ahead. She mistakenly thought the bell indicated that it was her final lap, and so pulled up after another 400 metres. As such, she did not finish her race. She later said in an interview, "I gave everything I could. I worked like crazy these past twelve months. I have no regrets, but I had tears in my eyes because I wanted to leave Rio with a new record."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taher, Bibiro Ali 1988 births Living people Chadian female long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Chad Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Chadian emigrants to France