As the Tokyo2020 Paralympic Games came to an end we look back the heroes that represented Algeria in the Japanese capital.
A total of 12 medals were won throughout three sports, four gold, four silver and lastly you guessed it four bronze medals.
First up, the four gold medallists for Algeria, Cherine Abdellaoui, Skander Djamil Athmani , Safia Djelal and Asmahane Boudjadar.
The young judoka Abdellaoui who won a bronze medal at just 18 years of age in Rio 2016, came back with a bang in her second Paralympic appearance.
On her path to Paralympic Champion she took on Ukrainian Nataliya Nikolachyk in the quarterfinals, Yui Fujiwara, representing the host country, in the semis and Priscilla Gagne of Canada in the final.
It was an amazing debut for Paralympic sprinter Athmani as he took home one silver medal in the Men’s 100m T13 and a gold medal in the Men’s 400m T13 as well as setting a New World Record at 46.70 in the process.
The third gold medal was won by the veteran Safia Djelal, who has been competing at the Paralympics since Athens 2004 and has won 2 medals prior to Tokyo. This time around she added a third medal and also managed to break the World Record in the women’s shot put F57 with 11.29.
Boudjadar helped to make history for Algeria by winning the third gold medal in one single day after Athmani and Djelal. The Algerian competed in the Women’s Shot Put F33 and set a Paralympic Record with a 7.10 throw.
Onto the silver medallists Nassima Saifi, Skander Djamil Athmani, Abdelkaraim krai and Kamel Kardjena.
Saifi came to Tokyo with two Gold medals to her name and of course was expected to get another one and so she did with a third medal, a silver in the women’s seated discus throw F56 final.
As mentioned before the second silver medal was won by Athmani. The Algerian qualified easily to the final of the Men’s 100m T13 after he got the quickest time throughout all three heats.
In the final Athmani came so close to the gold medal by an amazing 00.01s, thus earning him the silver medal, he later went on to win gold in the 400m.
Two silver medals were won on the penultimate day and the first was by the youngster Abdelkarim Krai who made his Paralympic debut in the Men’s 1500m T38 final. It was a solid performance which saw the Algerian take over in the last stretch to earn the second spot on the podium.
The second silver medal was won by Kamel Kardjena in the Men’s Shot Put F33, he also managed to beat the African Record with a throw of 4:03.07.
Lastly the four Algerian bronze medallists were Hocine Betti, Mounia Gasmi, Walid Ferhah and Lynda Hamri.
Power lifter Bettir was the first to open the account for Algeria on day three at the Paralympics with his bronze medal. The Algerian, who made his second Paralympic appearance, the first being in Rio 2016 where he had to pull out early from his event.
However, this time around in Tokyo he managed to compete and take third place on the podium in the Men’s -65kg with a best lift of 192kg.
Second bronze medallist Gasmi came to Tokyo already with two silver medals which she won back in London 2012 and Rio 2016. She was able to make it three in three with a bronze in the Women’s Club Throw F32 final in Tokyo.
Paralympic debutant in the Men’s Seated Discus/Club throw F32 Walid Ferhah, had a very difficult background and sad story prior to sport, but he managed to overcome that and make everyone proud as he earned Algeria’s third bronze medal.
The last bronze medal was won by Lynda Hamri, who made her third appearance at a Paralympic Games. Previously she took home silver in London 2012 and bronze in Rio 2016.
And she made it three medals in each of her last three appearances after earning a bronze and a season best with a result of 5.33m in the women’s T12 long Jump.
To round it all off we at DZ Sport would like to thank everyone who supported us during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games. It has been a huge pleasure and we hope to be able to bring you all the latest in Paris 2024.
We leave you here some memorable moments to look back:
DZ Sport 