Nadia Ejjafini (born 8 November 1977) is a
Moroccan-born professional
long-distance runner. She
switched nationality from her birth country to
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
in 2003, and later became an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
citizen by marriage in 2009.
Biography
She finished fourth in the
5000 metres at the
1998 World Junior Championships
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
. She won the
half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...
race at the
1999 Pan Arab Games
The 1999 Pan Arab Games were ninth edition of the multi-sport event between Arab countries and were held from August 15 to August 31. A total of around 4600 athletes from 21 countries participated in the 29 sports on offer. The opening ceremony tha ...
, at the time representing Morocco. She won the
Giro di Castelbuono
The Giro di Castelbuono (officially Giro Podistico Internazionale Castelbuono) is an annual road running competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in Castelbuono, on the island of Sicily, Italy. First held in 1912, the competition, whic ...
race in 2002.
Ejjafini competed at the World Cross Country Championships in
2003 and
2004 and in the
marathon at the World Championships in
2003 and
2005. She also
competed in the marathon at the
2004 and
2008 Summer Olympics, but did not finish on either attempt. She was fourth over 5000 m at the
2006 Asian Games
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
.
She enjoyed much success on the road circuit in 2006: she won the
Tilburg Ten Miles,
Diecimiglia del Garda,
Parelloop,
Circuito Podistico and
Rome-Ostia Half Marathon that year. She also took consecutive victories at both the
Corrida de Langueux and
Corrida de Houilles 10K races in 2006 and 2007.
Representing Bahrain, she took a 5000 m
silver medal and 10,000 m
bronze medal at the
2007 Military World Games
The 2007 Military World Games, officially the 4th CISM Military World Games were held at the twin-cities Hyderabad - Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India from 14–21 October 2007. Some parts of the games were also held in Mumbai.
According to p ...
and won the bronze at the 2007
Asian Cross Country Championships
The Asian Cross Country Championships is a biennial regional cross country running competition for athletes from Asia. It is organised by the Asian Athletics Association and was first held in 1991 in Fukuoka, Japan. The competition has been held ...
. At the
Athletics at the 2007 Pan Arab Games
At the 2007 Pan Arab Games, the athletics events were held at the Military Academy Stadium in Cairo, Egypt from 21 to 24 November. A total of 46 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 23 by female athletes. Morocco was the most successful ...
, she was the 10,000 m
gold medallist.
She gained Italian citizenship in September 2009 by marriage. That year she was the winner at the
Singelloop Utrecht
The Singelloop Utrecht is an annual road running event over which takes place on the streets of city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is typically held in either September or October
The competition, which roughly translates as the ''Utrecht Can ...
. She won her first national title at the
2011 Italian Athletics Championships over 10,000 m. She came second at the
Cross della Vallagarina in January 2011, finishing behind Ethiopian runner
Fente Alemu Birtukan. She represented Italy internationally for the first time at the
2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, coming 34th overall. The following month she took part in the
Great Ireland Run and reached the top three.
She won the
Cremona Half Marathon in October with a career best run of 1:08:27 hours and a personal best of 2:26:15 in the marathon followed, as she was sixth at the
Frankfurt Marathon
The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...
. At November's
Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio
The Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Llodio in the Basque Country, Spain, around late November. The event was first held in February 1985 and changed to an end-of-year competit ...
she won the 7.64 km race with half a minute to spare. She was in contention for a medal for much of the race at the
2011 European Cross Country Championships
The 2011 European Cross Country Championships was the 18th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Velenje, Slovenia on 11 December.
Atelaw Yeshetela of Belgium won the men's title to become the ...
, but was edged into fourth late on by
Gemma Steel. At the
Cross de Venta de Baños later that month she was runner-up behind
Priscah Jepleting. In her last race of the year, she came fourth at the
Saint Silvester Road Race
The Saint Silvester Road Race ( pt, Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre) is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil.
Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the Brazi ...
. She improved her 10K best to 31:52 minutes at the
Great Manchester Run in May 2012, taking second place behind
Linet Masai.
Personal bests
*
5000 metres - 15:16.54 min (2012)
*
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 ra ...
- 31:45:14 min (2012)
*
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...
- 1:08:27 hrs (2011)
*
Marathon - 2:26:15 hrs (2011)
Achievements
See also
*
Italian all-time lists - 5000 metres
*
Italian all-time lists - 10000 metres
*
Italian all-time lists - Half marathon
*
Italian all-time lists - Marathon
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejjafini, Nadia
1977 births
Living people
Bahraini female long-distance runners
Moroccan female long-distance runners
Italian female long-distance runners
Italian female marathon runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for Bahrain
Olympic athletes for Italy
Naturalised citizens of Italy
Moroccan emigrants to Italy
Athletics competitors of Gruppo Sportivo Esercito
Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games
Moroccan female marathon runners
Moroccan emigrants to Bahrain
Asian Games competitors for Bahrain
Italian female cross country runners