Halima Hachlaf (born 6 September 1988) is a Moroccan runner who specializes in the

800 metres 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 ...

. She is the younger sister of

Abdelkader Hachlaf Abdelkader Hachlaf ( ar, عبدالقادر حشلاف, born 3 August 1978) is a Moroccan runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was suspended between April 2004 and April 2006 after testing positive for the banned substance ...

, an international

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

athlete. She won silver medals in the 800 m 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 ...

and

Jeux de la Francophonie The Jeux de la Francophonie (Canadian English: ''Francophonie Games''; British English: ''Francophone Games'') are a combination of artistic and sporting events for the Francophonie, mostly French-speaking nations and former colonies of France, ...

in 2009. Her personal best for the distance is 1:58.27.

Junior career

Hachlaf was born in

Khénifra Khenifra ( Berber: ''Xnifṛa'', ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ar, خنيفرة) is a city in northern central Morocco, surrounded by the Atlas Mountains and located on the Oum Er-Rbia River. National Highway 8 also goes through the town. The population, a ...

, and began her international career at an early age, competing in the

at the

2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the third edition of the international athletics competition for youth (under-18) athletes organised by the IAAF. It was held in Sherbrooke, Canada from the 9–13 July at the Université de Sh ...

when she was fourteen. She qualified for the semi-finals but did not manage to finish the race. She had greater success at the 2004 World Junior Championships the following year, as she recorded a personal best of 2:06.44 in the heats and reached the event final, finishing ninth. In 2005, she entered the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

for the first time and was 31st overall in the junior race. At the 2005 World Youth Championships she won her heat and recorded a season's best of 2:06.91 to finish as runner-up in the semi-final behind Teresa Kwamboka. She failed to repeat this form in the final and was fourth in a time of 2:08.61. At the end of the year she competed at the 2005 Jeux de la Francophonie, and won a

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 ...

in the

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. She was first in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

at the African Northern Region Junior Championships in July 2006, but was beaten into second by Aicha Rezig in her speciality. She reached the semi-finals of the

2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2006 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held from 15 August to 20 August at the Chaoyang Sports Centre in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China. ...

and ran at the

2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2007. The races were held at the Mombasa Golf Course in Mombasa, Kenya. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encom ...

, taking 46th place.Hachlaf Halima Biography

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-06-11. Later that year, she ran a personal best of 2:02.60 at a meeting in Biberach,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– a mark which made her the third fastest junior woman that year. She won two medals at the 2007 African Junior Championships in Athletics, taking the silver in the 800 m and a bronze in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. The highlight 2008 for Hachlaf was a fourth-place finish at the 2008 African Championships, where she finished in a time of 2:04.74 behind Agnes Samaria.

Senior breakthrough

The 2009 season brought significant improvements for Hachlaf. She set a new best time of 2:00.91 for 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 ...

at 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 ...

, although she was somewhat behind Elisa Cusma who set a Games record. She competed at her first global senior competition the following month, the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. Hachlaf recorded the fifth fastest qualifying time in the heats stage, but she did not manage to finish the semi-finals, dropping out mid-race. She closed her year with an appearance at the 2009 Jeux de la Francophonie, where she won another silver medal, just beaten by her compatriot Seltana Aït Hammou. On the final day of the competition she took the

for Morocco in the 4×400 m relay. The Moroccan made her first global indoor appearance at the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

in March, but missed out on qualification in the heats stage. At the start of the outdoor season she scored an unexpected win over her compatriot

Hasna Benhassi Hasna Benhassi ( ar, حسنة بنحسي; born 1 June 1978) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres ...

at the

Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat The Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat is an annual track and field competition at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 2008. Its name ...

in a personal best run of 2:00.63. A few days later she ran at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and had a significant victory over World Championship medallists

Janeth Jepkosgei Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei (born 13 December 1983) is a Kenyan middle distance runner and former world champion. Early career Janeth, nicknamed "Eldoret Express" is from Kabirirsang, near Kapsabet. Famous athletes Wilson Kipketer and Wilfre ...

and Jenny Meadows. She comfortably won in a time of 1:58.40 at the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

meeting, improving her best by over two seconds and scoring her first major win of her career.

Doping suspension

She served a 4-year competition ban, as a result of abnormalities in her

biological passport An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by n ...

, lasting from 14 October 2013 to 18 December 2017. This made her the second athlete in her family to receive a doping ban, as her brother

was banned for doping in 2004.Athletes Sanctioned for a Doping Offence Committed During 2004
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-06-27.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hachlaf, Halima 1988 births Living people Moroccan sportspeople in doping cases Olympic athletes for Morocco Moroccan female steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Doping cases in athletics Moroccan female middle-distance runners People from Khenifra Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Morocco Athletes (track and field) at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games African Games competitors for Morocco 20th-century Moroccan women 21st-century Moroccan women