Leila Maryam Ben Youssef ( ar, ليلى مريم بن يوسف; born November 13, 1981 in

Sidney, Montana Sidney is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Montana, United States, less than west of the North Dakota border. The population was 6,346 at the 2020 census. The city lies along the Yellowstone River and is in proximity to the ...

, United States) is a Tunisian-American pole vaulter. She is a multiple-time Tunisian record holder in the pole vault, and a gold medalist 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 ...

in Algiers, Algeria. She also holds a dual citizenship, and chose to represent her father's birthplace

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

at numerous sporting events, including the Olympic games.

Athletic career

Born in

to a Tunisian father and a French mother, Ben Youssef started out her athletic career in pole vault at the age of fourteen. She excelled at her sport and academics throughout her years at Sidney High School, where she became a three-time Class A state champion, and posted a personal record of 12 feet and 7.5 inches (3.84 metres). Coming out of high school in 2000, Ben Youssef attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in Stanford, California on a full academic and sport scholarship. She majored in human biology, minored in archaeology, and competed for the University's track and field team as a member of

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

. After completing her undergraduate degree in 2004, Ben Youssef also earned a master's degree of medical anthropology from the University. Since graduating from Stanford University in 2005, Ben Youssef continued to compete for pole vault this time, as a member of the Tunisian national track and field team. In 2007, she reached her breakthrough season by winning gold medals at the

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Game ...

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, and 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 ...

in Algiers, Algeria, with a height of 3.80 and 3.85 metres, respectively. The following year, Ben Youssef improved her performance at the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Ath ...

in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when she cleared 4.00 metres to clinch another career gold medal. She also set a national record, and vaulted a personal best of 4.30 metres at an athletics meet in

Los Gatos, California Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...

, earning her a spot on the Tunisian team for the Olympics. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Ben Youssef successfully cleared a height of 4.00 metres in the women's pole vault. Unfortunately, she fell short in her bid for the final, as she placed thirty-second overall in the qualifying rounds, tying her position with Finland's

Vanessa Vandy Vanessa Isabelle Vandy (born 14 May 1989) is a New Zealand-born Finland, Finnish film director, cinematographer and former pole vaulter. She is a national outdoor and indoor champion for the pole vault, and also, a bronze medalist at the 2009 Eur ...

. Shortly after the Olympics, Ben Youssef announced her retirement from pole vault to pursue her studies at the University of Washington School of Medicine at

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

Bozeman Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

References

External links

*
Profile – Stanford Cardinal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Youssef, Leila 1981 births Living people Track and field athletes from Montana Tunisian female pole vaulters Olympic athletes for Tunisia Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Stanford Cardinal women's track and field athletes Stanford University alumni American people of Tunisian descent Sportspeople of Tunisian descent American people of French descent African Games gold medalists for Tunisia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) People from Sidney, Montana Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games