Global InformationMajed Abu Maraheel information
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | ماجد أبو مراحيل |
| Born | 5 June 1963 Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Palestine |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Country | Palestine |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Long-distance running |
| Coached by | Nabil Mabrouk[2] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best |
|
Majed Abu Maraheel (Arabic: ماجد أبو مراحيل, romanized: Mājid ʿAbū Marāḥīl;[a] born 5 June 1963), is a retired Palestinian long-distance runner and athletics coach who was the first Palestinian to compete at the Olympic Games. Born to a refugee family in the Gaza Strip, Abu Maraheel worked as a day laborer in Israel before pursuing athletics. He self-trained as a long-distance runner at Gazan streets and beaches, becoming locally famed after winning a variety of local competitions. After winning an 8-kilometre race in 1995, he was recruited by Palestinian National Authority leader Yasser Arafat into Force 17, his personal security force.
Abu Maraheel competed in the 1995 Arab Athletics Championships, barely able to attend the event after a lengthy detainment by Egyptian border authorities. The following year, he represented Palestine at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, becoming the country's first Olympian and Olympic flag-bearer. He competed in the men's 10,000 meters, ultimately eliminated after placing 21st in his qualification group. He retired following the games, later serving as an athletics coach to Palestinian Olympic runners Bahaa al-Farra and Woroud Sawalha.
- ^ a b "Majed Abu Maraheel". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ Rowley, Storer (2 June 1996). "Runner Stakes Claim In New Terrain". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 291137496. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
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