Kenza Dahmani Tifahi (born 18 November 1980) is an Algerian

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 ...

who competes in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, road and cross country events. She is a six-time participant at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. At the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

she won two bronze medals in 2009 before taking the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

title in 2013. She has also won medals at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

, Pan Arab Games and

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 ...

Career

Dahmani's first international outings came through the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Running as a junior, she came 58th in 1997, 55th in 1998, and 43rd in 1999. Once she had grown into the senior ranks she did not compete at a high level until 2007. That year she won the Algerian cross country title and was runner-up at the national half marathon championships. Her half marathon performance led to her first senior international selections: she was runner-up at the

, the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

list at the

2007 All-Africa Games The 9th All-Africa Games took place between 11 and 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers is the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were held there. Besides Algeria, only Nige ...

, and the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

list at the

2007 Pan Arab Games The 11th Pan Arab Games took place in Cairo, Egypt from 11 – 26 November 2007. A total of 22 countries participated in 32 events. These games were the largest in the games' history; seven new events were introduced and 2000 more athletes partici ...

.Kenza Dahmani
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-07-02. She represented Algeria at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, placing 59th and 32nd respectively. She set a personal best in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

with a run of 2:39:38 hours for third at the Madrid Marathon. The

2009 Mediterranean Games The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games ( it, XVI Giochi del Mediterraneo) and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the Inte ...

provided her with more regional medals, as she claimed the bronze in both the

and the half marathon events. She was the Arab Half Marathon champion and also won at the Marathon de Toulouse Métropole. She competed sparingly in 2010 to 2012, with her foremost result being fourth place at the Arab Half Marathon Championships. The 2013 season saw Dahmani reach new peaks. She placed 18th at the

2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2013. The races were held at the Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kenya topped the medal standings in the competition with 5 gold, and Ethiopia had the most overall ...

and she won the 10,000 m title at the

with a personal best of 32:42.47 minutes.Athletics/10,000 m: Kenza Dahmani wins Algeria’s sixth gold medal
Algerian Press Service. Retrieved on 2013-07-02. Over the half marathon distance she was the runner-up in the Arab Championships but failed to finish at the Mediterranean Games. Dahmani has two children. She stopped competing in 2013–2015 and returned to training in October 2015. She placed 50th in the 2016 Olympic marathon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahmani, Kenza Living people 1980 births Algerian female long-distance runners Algerian female marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Algeria Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Algeria Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Algeria Athletes (track and field) at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2013 Mediterranean Games African Games bronze medalists for Algeria African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games 21st-century Algerian women 21st-century Algerian people 20th-century Algerian women 20th-century Algerian people Arab Games silver medalists Arab Athletics Championships winners