Ghada Shouaa

Ghada Shouaa

Personal information
Born	(1973-09-10) September 10, 1973 Mhardeh, Syria
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Syria Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Heptathlon World Championships 1995 Gothenburg Heptathlon 1999 Seville Heptathlon Asian Championships 1993 Manila Heptathlon 1991 Kuala Lumpur Heptathlon

Ghada Shouaa (Arabic: غادة شعاع‎‎; born September 10, 1973) is a retired Syrian heptathlete. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won her country's first and only Olympic gold medal.

Biography

Born in the small Syrian city of Mhardeh in the Hama Governorate, Shouaa's first sport was basketball.^[1] She played on the Syrian national team for a few years, but then decided to compete in athletics. She did her first heptathlon in 1991, and was immediately sent to the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, where she placed last.^[1] She concluded her first athletics season with a silver medal in the Asian championships.

Shouaa debuted at the Olympics in the 1992 Barcelona Games, placing 25th in spite of an injury. Her breakthrough did not come until 1995, when she won the important heptathlon meet in Götzis, scoring 6715 points. This boosted her to one of the favourites for the title at the 1995 World Championships, held in Gothenburg. After co-favorite Sabine Braun dropped out with an injury, Shouaa won the title with a comfortable margin.^[1]

The following season, Shouaa again won the Götzis meet, bringing the still-standing Asian record to 6942 points. In Atlanta, three months later, she confirmed her status as the best heptathlete at the time, winning Syria's first Olympic gold medal.^[1]

A serious injury ruined the following season, and she was unable to make a serious comeback until 1999, when she placed third at the World Championships behind Eunice Barber.^[1] Shouaa attempted to defend her Olympic title in Sydney, but she again became injured and did not even finish the first event.^[1] After this disappointment, she decided to retire from athletics.

Civil War in Syria

During a visit to Syria in 2013 or 2014, Shouaa appeared in a picture with a heavy machine gun while accompanying the National Defence Forces, a branch of Syrian Armed Forces.^[2] In a speech, Shouaa greeted the Syrian Arab Army, saying the army's motto 'Homeland, Honor, Honesty' represents "each and every honest Syrian form which he/she draws the ability for steadfastness and making achievements for Syria's sake".^[3]

She now lives in Germany.^[4]

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Syria
1991	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	24th	Heptathlon	5066 pts
	Asian Championships	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	2nd	Heptathlon	5425 pts
	Arab Championships	Latakia, Syria	1st	High jump	1.60 m
			1st	Long jump	5.50 m
			1st	Javelin throw	41.92 m
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	25th	Heptathlon	5278 pts
1993	Mediterranean Games	Narbonne, France	8th	Long jump	6.13 m
			2nd	Heptathlon	6168 pts
	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	–	Heptathlon	DNF
	Arab Championships	Latakia, Syria	1st	800 m	2:14.7
			1st	100 m hurdles	14.44 s
			1st	High jump	1.75 m
			1st	Long jump	6.07 m
			1st	Javelin throw	50.54 m
	Asian Championships	Manila, Philippines	1st	Heptathlon	6259 pts
1994	Goodwill Games	St. Petersburg, Russia	3rd	Heptathlon	6361 pts
	Asian Games	Hiroshima, Japan	1st	Heptathlon	6360 pts
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	1st	Heptathlon	6651 pts
	Arab Championships	Cairo, Egypt	1st	High jump	1.80 m
			1st	Long jump	6.64 m
			1st	Javelin throw	53.72 m
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	1st	Heptathlon	6780 pts
1999	Pan Arab Games	Amman, Jordan	1st	High jump	1.78 m
			2nd	Long jump	6.19 m
			2nd	Shot put	16.25 m
			1st	Javelin throw	55.14 m
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	3rd	Heptathlon	6500 pts
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	–	Heptathlon	DNF

See also

• List of Syrian people

References

External links

• Official website
• Ghada Shouaa profile at IAAF

Sporting positions
Preceded by Heike Drechsler	Women's Heptathlon Best Year Performance 1995–1996	Succeeded by Sabine Braun
Olympic Games
Preceded by Joseph Atiyeh	Flagbearer for  Syria Atlanta 1996	Succeeded by Moutassem Ghotouq