Hania Aidi ( ar, هنية العايدي; born 10 December 1977) is a

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

competing mainly in category F54

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 ...

events. Aidi has competed at four consecutive

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

, winning silver medals at three of the Games. She is also a three time

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

winner medalist and has held the F54 javelin world record on numerous occasions throughout her career.

Personal history

Aidi was born in

Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...

, Tunisia in 1977. She was born able bodied, but suffered permanent spinal injuries after a medical error.

Athletics career

Aidi took up athletics at the age of 26, after she became disabled. Her international debut was at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece where she represented her country in all three throwing events available to her classification; the F54–55

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

and

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 ...

. She failed to progress into the final eight for the shot put and discus, but her distance of 12.22 metres in the javelin saw her acquire enough points to finish just outside the podium positions in fourth. Two years after Athens, Aidi competed at her first

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

. Held in

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

, the 2006 Championships allowed Aidi a chance to compete against the best athletes in the world outside the Paralympics. She competed in two events, the shot put (T54) and the javelin throw (F54–56). She finished fourth in both. Her first international medals were won at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing. In the

she threw 6.81 to finish fourth, but success followed in the javelin where her third round throw of 16.83 not only gave her the silver medal but also set a new world record in the F54 category. Further international success followed three years later in the buildup to the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in London when Aidi travelled to Christchurch in New Zealand to compete at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

. There she again focused on the shot put and the

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 ...

, finishing fifth in the shot, but a world record throw of 17.27 in the javelin gave her the gold medal. The following year, at the London Paralympics, Aidi attempted to recreate her form from he World Championships. In the women's javelin throw (T54/55/56) despite exceeding her world record from Christchurch twice with distances of 17.28 and 17.40, she was unable to compete against China's

Yang Liwan Yang Liwan (born 18 January 1978) is a Paralympian Track and field, athlete from China competing mainly in category T54 (classification), F54 throwing events. Athletic career Yang made her first appearance at a Summer Paralympics in the 2008 Su ...

, who led from the first throw. Aidi still left with the silver medal in the javelin, and added a fifth place in the shot put. The next year Aidi retook the world record in the javelin, throwing 18.32 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Lyon, pushing her Paralympic rival Yang, into silver medal place. As well as retaining her javelin world title she also took bronze in the shot put. Two years later, in Doha, she extended her world record in the javelin further, recording a distance of 18.86 metres on the way to winning her third consecutive world championships title. Hopes were high for Aidi at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in Rio de Janeiro and she was chosen by her country to be the

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the opening ceremony. In the final of the F54 javelin Aidi threw 18.88, another personal best, but she was outclassed by Nigeria's Flora Ugwunwa, who managed a world record 20.25 in her first throw, a lead she did not give up. With Aidi in silver position, and South Africa's Ntombizanele Situ in third, all three medals went to African nations.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aidi, Hania 1977 births Living people Tunisian female javelin throwers Paralympic athletes for Tunisia Paralympic silver medalists for Tunisia Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics African Games gold medalists for Tunisia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics 20th-century Tunisian women 20th-century Tunisian people 21st-century Tunisian women 21st-century Tunisian people Wheelchair javelin throwers Paralympic javelin throwers