Nouria Mérah-Benida

Nouria Mérah-Benida

Personal information
Born	19 October 1970 (1970-10-19) (age 55) Algiers, Algeria
Medal record Women's athletics Representing Algeria Olympic Games 2000 Sydney 1500 m African Championships 2000 Algiers 1500 m 2006 Bambous 1500 m 2000 Algiers 800 m 2006 Bambous 800 m Mediterranean Games 1997 Bari 1500 m

Nouria Merah-Benida (Arabic: نورية مراح بنيدة; born 19 October 1970) is an Algerian former middle-distance runner.

At the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg, Merah-Benida won silver medals in both 800 metres and 1,500 metres. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney she won an unexpected gold medal ahead of Romanians Violeta Szekely (silver) and Gabriela Szabo (bronze). The same year, she won an 800 m silver medal and a 1,500 m gold medal at the African Championships. She retired after the 2001 season.

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Algeria
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	23rd (h)	800 m	2:02.44
1997	Mediterranean Games	Bari, Italy	1st	1500 m	4:11.27
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	11th (sf)	800 m	2:01.08
			29th (h)	1500 m	4:12.21
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	10th (sf)	800 m	2:03.10
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	19th (h)	1500 m	4:08.90
	All-Africa Games	Johannesburg, South Africa	2nd	800 m	2:00.83
			2nd	1500 m	4:18.69
2000	African Championships	Algiers, Algeria	2nd	800 m	1:59.73
			1st	1500 m	4:16.14
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	1st	1500 m	4:05.10
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	24th (h)	1500 m	4:15.06
2006	African Championships	Bambous, Mauritius	3rd	800 m	2:02.18
			1st	1500 m	4:23.26