Habiba Ghribi

Habiba Ghribi

Personal information
Nickname(s) Bibi
Born 9 April 1984
Kairouan, Tunisia
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Weight 49 kg (108 lb; 7.7 st)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Coached by Constantin Nourescu (ROU)[1]

Habiba Ghribi (born 9 April 1984 in Kairouan)[1] is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She is the Tunisian record holder in the event, having run 9:08.37 for second place at the 2012 Summer Olympics giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman.

Ghribi competed at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships a number of times but found greater success on the track, winning a steeplechase silver at the 2006 African Championships in Athletics and a bronze in the 1500 metres at the 2009 Mediterranean Games. She represented Tunisia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing thirteenth in the first ever women's Olympic steeplechase race. She was voted the Best Sportswoman of 2009 by the Arabic daily newspaper Assahafa.

Career

She began her career as a cross country runner and competed in the junior race at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships at the age of fifteen, finishing in 46th place (the second best of the Tunisian team).[2] She competed in the senior short race in 2002, finishing in 76th. Ghribi competed at the 2002 African Championships in Athletics in Radès, Tunisia and ended up in 11th place in the 5000 metres final. Ghribi won the gold in the junior race at the 2002 Pan Arab Cross Country Championships.[3] She also went back to the junior race in 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, improving to 23rd place and heading the Tunisian team to 7th place overall.[4] After modest finishes in the World Cross Country short race in the 2004 and 2005, she switched to focus on the 3000 m steeplechase on the track instead when it became a world championship event.[5]

She took part in her first World Championships in Athletics at the 2005 Helsinki Championships and finished eighth in her heat, not managing to qualify for the women's final but setting a personal best and Tunisian record of 9:51.49 nevertheless.[6] She gained her first major medal in the event the following year, taking the silver medal at the 2006 African Championships in Athletics behind world medallist Jeruto Kiptum[7]

Her next major competition was the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This was the first time that the Olympics had held a women's steeplechase competition and she greatly improved her record to 9:25.50 in the Olympic heats, but was a little slower in the final and finished 13th overall.[8][9]

She attended a number of major events in 2009, starting with her first ever long race at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships where she finished in 41st place.[10] After this she ran in the 1500 metres at the 2009 Mediterranean Games and achieved a personal best of 4:12.37 on her way to a bronze medal.[11] She made her second world steeplechase appearance at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and further improved her best by a significant amount in the World final. Her time of 9:12.52 took her up to sixth place.[12] Ghribi closed the year with a performance at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final results, but she failed to finish the race.[13]

In recognition of her achievements in 2009, Ghribi topped a poll organised by the Arabic language daily Assahafa and was named as the "Best Sportswoman in 2009" in Tunisia.[14]

Personal bests

Event Time (m:s) Venue Date
1500 metres 4:12.37 Pescara, Italy 3 July 2009
3000 metres 8:56.22 Franconville, France 8 May 2011
5000 metres 16:12.9 Radès, Tunisia 22 June 2003
3000 metres steeplechase 9:08.37 London, Great Britain 6 August 2012

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2000 World Cross Country Championships Vilamoura, Portugal 46th Junior race
2002 World Cross Country Championships Dublin, Ireland 76th Short race
Pan Arab Cross Country Championships Amman, Jordan 1st Junior race
African Championships Radès, Tunisia 11th 5000 m
2003 World Cross Country Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 23rd Junior race
2004 World Cross Country Championships Brussels, Belgium 68th Short race
2005 World Cross Country Championships Saint-Étienne, France 48th Short race
World Championships in Athletics Helsinki, Finland heats 3000 m st. 9:51.49 (NR)
2006 African Championships Bambous, Mauritius 2nd 3000 m st.
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 13th 3000 m st. 9:25.50 (NR)
2009 World Cross Country Championships Amman, Jordan 41st Senior race
Mediterranean Games Pescara, Italy 3rd 1500 m 4:12.37 (PB)
World Championships in Athletics Berlin, Germany 6th 3000 m st. 9:12.52 (NR)
2012 Olympic Games London, England 2nd 3000 m st. 9:08.37 (NR)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Habiba Ghribi". london2012.com. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  2. ↑ Official Team Results - CROSS JUNIOR RACE Women. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  3. ↑ Pan Arab Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  4. ↑ Official Team Results Junior Race - W. IAAF (2003-03-29). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  5. ↑ Ghribi Habiba. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  6. ↑ 3000 Metres Steeplechase - W Heats. IAAF (2005-08-06). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  7. ↑ Ouma, Mark (2006-08-13). South Africans steal the show - African Championships report - Day Four. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  8. ↑ 3000 Metres Steeplechase - W Heats. IAAF (2008-08-15). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  9. ↑ 3000 Metres Steeplechase - W Final. IAAF (2008-08-17). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  10. ↑ Senior Race - W Final. IAAF (2009-03-28). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  11. ↑ Women's 1500m Final. Pescara 2009. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  12. ↑ Mulkeen, Jon (2009-08-17). Event Report - Women's 3000m Steeplechase - Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-18.
  13. ↑ 3000 Metres Steeplechase - W Final. IAAF (2009-09-12). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  14. ↑ Tunisia: Habiba Ghribi Elected Best Sportswoman in 2009. All-Africa (2010-03-08). Retrieved on 2010-03-31.

External links

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