Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi ( ar, أحمد بوقرة الوافي; 15 October 1898 – 18 October 1959) was an Algerian athlete during the time of the French occupation of Algeria. In 1928, he won the Olympic gold medal in the marathon.

Biography

El Ouafi was born in the town of

Ouled Djellal Ouled Djellal is a town and commune in Biskra Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 45,622. more recent census says it has over 66,000 people. It is the second biggest city in the state of Biskra because of its pop ...

, joining the French military regiment later (at that time, Algeria was part of French Algeria). One of his superior officers noticed El Ouafi's outstanding athletic abilities, and decided to send him to a military sports competition in France. He made a good impression there, and was allowed to enter qualification for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris in the marathon event. Boughèra El Ouafi managed to qualify, and completed his first Olympic marathon, running for France, in seventh position. This good result allowed him to prepare more extensively for the next Games, held in

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. In the 1928 competition, he ran behind the leaders for the first three quarters of the race, overtaking them some 5 km before the end. He was never caught by any of the other runners, and finished first, 26 seconds ahead of second-placed Manuel Plaza from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. El Ouafi was the only representative of French athletics to win gold at the 1928 Olympics. After his surprise victory, El Ouafi toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. However, the money he earned with this trip disqualified him as an amateur, causing him to leave the sport, and he opened a cafe in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. El Ouafi remained forgotten until 1956, when another Algerian, Alain Mimoun, also won the Olympic marathon. Reporters went to seek out the other Algerian who had won 28 years earlier, and found him a pauper. El Ouafi was killed while in a café, three days after his 61st birthday. Accounts of his death vary. French media then claimed that he was targeted by members of the National Liberation Front after he had refused to support them; other accounts say he was a bystander victim of an argument between family members and revolutionaries, or was killed during a family quarrel.

References

Sources

* Wallechinsky, David (2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'',

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

: Sport Classic Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:El Ouafi, Boughera 1898 births 1959 deaths Algerian male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic athletes of France French sportspeople of Algerian descent French male long-distance runners French male marathon runners People from Biskra Province Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Algerian murder victims Male murder victims People murdered in Algeria