Ghada Shouaa ( ar, غادة شعاع; born September 10, 1972) is a retired

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, she won her country's first and only

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal. She was also a

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

heptathlon champion. She is considered one of the best Asian and Arab female athletes of all time. She was a Syrian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She has represented Syria in her two strongest multi-event disciplines, the individual high jump and long jump events. She holds the Syrian

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

records with 1.87 m outdoors (1996), in

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

with 54.82 m (1999) in

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

with 23.78 (1996), in

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

with 6.77 (1996) and in

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

with 16.25 (1999). Shuaa's heptathlon results include finishing 25th at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, 24th at the 1991 World Championships, third at the

1999 World Athletics Championships The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and Augu ...

and first at the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

. She is also multiple gold medalist at the

Arab Athletics Championships The Arab Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Arab Athletic Association. It traditionally occurred every two years. It was not held in 1985 due to the schedule clash with the Pan Arab Games. However, due to the erratic scheduling ...

. With a performance of 6942 points at the

Hypo-Meeting The Hypo-Meeting is an annual athletics (sport), athletics competition that takes place in the Mösle stadium in Götzis in Vorarlberg (Austria) held in the spring (late May, early June). In its history, a total of three world records have been se ...

, which moved her into the world all-time Top 25 and she went down in history as the best Asian and Arab heptathlete. Shouaa's career coincided with those of older compatriot, three-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion legend

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

and Olympic champion

Denise Lewis Denise Lewis (born 27 August 1972) is a British sports presenter and former track and field athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was twice Commonwealth Games champion, ...

Early life

She was born in the small Syrian city of

Mhardeh Maharda ( ar, محردة, Maḥarda, ), also spelled Mhardeh or Muhardah, is a city in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located about 23 kilometers northwest of Hama. It is situated along the Orontes River, near t ...

in the

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حماة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates ...

. Growing up in rural Syria, Ghada Shouaa first realised her sporting potential at the age of 12 when she managed to catch a rabbit that had escaped from the hands of an old man in her village. She was soon harnessing her natural speed, competing in cross-country races. However, it was in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

that she made her initial foray into the world of elite sport. She played for the Syrian national team for a few years, but then decided to compete in athletics.

Career

In 1991, Shouaa took part in a competitive heptathlon in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

for the first time and set a new Syrian national record with a points tally of 4,010. She was immediately sent to the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, where she placed last. She concluded her first athletics season with a silver medal in the 1991 Asian Athletics 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 Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The Alpine Rhine valley municipality belongs to the district of Feldkirch. Population Events The town is well known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so-called Hypo ...

, scoring 6715 points. This boosted her to one of the favourites for the title at the 1995 World Athletics Championships, held in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. After co-favorite

Sabine Braun Sabine Braun (born 19 June 1965 in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German former athlete in track and field. Because she had talents in several disciplines, Sabine Braun competed in the heptathlon and had a number of successes ...

dropped out with an injury, Shouaa won the title with a comfortable margin. The following season, Shouaa again won the

1996 Hypo-Meeting The 22nd edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 25 and May 26, 1996 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon. It was the last big test before the start of the 1996 Summer ...

, bringing the still-standing Asian record to 6942 points. In

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, three months later, she confirmed her status as the best heptathlete at the time, winning Syria's first Olympic gold medal. 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. Shouaa attempted to defend her Olympic title in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, but she again became injured and did not even finish the first event. After this disappointment, she decided to retire from athletics. After 2001, she was declared the best Syrian athlete of the 20th century.

Civil War in Syria

During a visit to Syria in 2013 or 2014 in the midst of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Shouaa appeared in a picture with a heavy machine gun while accompanying the

National Defence Forces The National Defence Forces (NDF) ( ar, قوات الدفاع الوطني ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') is a pro-government militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War as a ...

, a branch of

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Re ...

. In a speech, Shouaa greeted the

Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ( ar, الْجَيْشُ الْعَرَبيُّ السُّورِيُّ, al-Jayš al-ʿArabī as-Sūrī), is the army, land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military ...

, 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". She now lives in Germany.

Personal bests

100 metres hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten Hurdling, hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first h ...

: 13.72 s *

Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

: 6.77 m NR *

High jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

: 1.87 m NR *

: 23.78 s NR *

Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

: 16.25 m NR *

Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

: 54.82 m NR *

800 m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

: 2:13.59 min *

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

: 6942 AR, NR (still currently #9 all time, 342 pts behind the world record)

Seasonal bests

Competition record

Honours

*1995: Prix Monique Berlioux *1995–1996: Women's Heptathlon Best Year Performance

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shouaa, Ghada 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 20th-century Syrian women