| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Algerian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 May 1994 El Eulma, Algeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Algeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | T13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | GSP Alger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Abdellatif Baka (born 7 May 1994) is a visually impaired Algerian middle-distance runner. [1]
Competing in the T13 classification, Baka represented his country at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London where he won the gold medal in the 800 metres race, and the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, winning the 1500 metres. He won the 1500m in Rio with a record 3'48.29, a faster time than that of the 2016 Summer Olympics 1500m winner, Matthew Centrowitz Jr. The latter's time in the Rio Olympics men's 1500 meters final race was beaten not only by all three medalists in the Rio Paralympics men's 1500 meters race but also by Fouad Baka, who is the brother of Abdellatif Baka and came 4th in that final race. [2] [3] He is also a multiple World Championships winner, taking four medals over two tournaments. [4]
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
Tunisia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
David Russell Weir is a British Paralympic wheelchair athlete. He has won a total of six gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games, and has won the London Marathon on eight occasions. He was born with a spinal cord transection that left him unable to use his legs.
Michael Gerard McKillop is an Irish middle distance runner. He competes in the T37 disability sport classification, as he has a mild form of cerebral palsy.
Odair Santos is a visually impaired Paralympian athlete from Brazil competing mainly in T11 classification middle and long-distance events. A veteran of four Paralympics, Santos has won nine Paralympic medals, including five silver medals. Santos is also a four time IPC World champion at the 1,500 metres event, being unbeaten from 2006 to 2015.
The men's 1500 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–7 August. Forty-three athletes from 29 nations competed. The event was won by Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, the nation's first title and medal in the event since 1996. Leonel Manzano's silver was the first medal for the United States in the men's 1500 metres since 1968. Morocco earned its fourth medal in six Games with Abdalaati Iguider's bronze. Kenya's four-Games podium streak ended.
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. is an American middle-distance runner, who specializes in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He also achieved a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships. Centrowitz is a five-time national champion in the 1500 m at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Marcel Eric Hug is a Paralympic athlete from Switzerland competing in category T54 wheelchair racing events. Hug, nicknamed 'The Silver Bullet', has competed in four Summer Paralympic Games for Switzerland, winning two bronze medals in his first Games in Athens in 2004. In 2010 he set four world records in four days, and at the 2011 World Championships he won a gold in the 10,000 metres and four silver medals, losing the gold in three events to long term rival David Weir. This rivalry continued into the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where Hug won two silvers, in the 800m and the marathon. In the 2013 World Championships Hug dominated the field, winning five golds and a silver. During the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, Hug was one of the most consistent competitors in the T54 class, winning two golds, in the 800m and marathon, and two silvers medals, in the 1500m and 5000m.
Jake Lappin is an Australian para-athlete competing as a wheelchair racer. He represented Australia at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics and at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Michael Roeger is an Australian T46 athletics competitor. He competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics athletics in middle distance and marathon running events. He has won one gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. His gold in the Men's T46 marathon at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was held as part of the London Marathon, set a new world record. In 2024, he is the holds the world record in the Men's 1500m T46 with a time of 3:36.51 set in 2017. Roeger competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the marathon. He has been selected to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, Paris,France - his fifth Games - in the Men's 1500 m T46.
Guinea-Bissau made its Paralympic Games debut by sending a delegation to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, having made its Olympic debut at 1996 Games. The delegation consisted of two athletes, Cesar Lopes Cardoso and Ussumane Cande, who both competed in track and field events. Neither athlete won a medal, with neither getting past the first round of their events.
The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, from 94 different countries. The event was held in the Stade du Rhône located at the Parc de Parilly in Vénissieux, in Lyon Metropolis.
El Amin Chentouf, is a Moroccan para-athlete running in T12 distance races. He has represented his country at three Summer Paralympics winning gold medals at each competition. Outside the Paralympics, Chentouf is also a world series Marathon champion, winning the T12/13 event at three London Marathons.
Deon Kenzie is an Australian Para athlete who competes in the T38 (classification) prominently in the 1500m. He has won medals at the 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024 World Para Athletics Championships including gold in the Men's 1500 m T38 in 2017. He won a silver medal in the Men's 1500 m T38 at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
The men's 1500 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 16–20 August at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Forty-two athletes from 26 nations competed. The event was won by Matthew Centrowitz, Jr. of the United States, the nation's first title in the event since 1908 and third overall. Taoufik Makhloufi and Nick Willis became the seventh and eighth men to win a second medal in the event, with Willis the only one to do so in non-consecutive Games.
Jaryd Clifford is an Australian Paralympic, vision impaired, middle-distance athlete. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics. He won gold medals in the Men's 1500m and 5000m T13 events at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. Clifford represented Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where he won silver medals in the Men's 5000m T13 and Men's Marathon T12, and a bronze medal in the Men's 1500 m T13. He has been selected for the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Uganda sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the eighth appearance of the country in the Summer Paralympic Games after it debuted forty-four years prior at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics. Athletics track runner David Emong was the sole athlete representing Uganda in Rio de Janeiro. He took part in the men's 400 metres T45–47 competition on 8 September and did not qualify for the finals because he was fifteenth overall. Emong participated in the men's 1500 metres T45–46 event later that day and he took Uganda's first medal in Paralympic competition by coming second in the final.
Madjid Djemai is an Algerian middle-distance runner.
Tamiru Demisse is a visually impaired Ethiopian Paralympic athlete. He represented Ethiopia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he won the silver medal in the men's 1500 metres T13 event. In this event, all three runners finished with a faster time than Matthew Centrowitz Jr., the winner of the men's 1500 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, who finished with a time of 3:50.00.
Aaron Pike is an American athlete who competes in wheelchair racing, biathlon, and cross-country skiing. He has competed at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, as well as the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics. Pike finished second at the 2022 Boston Marathon, third at the 2021 and 2022 Chicago Marathons, and fourth at the 2018 and 2019 New York City Marathons as well as the 2021 Boston Marathon. He won multiple medals at the 2023 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, including winning the 12.5 km seated event.
