Noureddine Morceli
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Noureddine Morceli (born February 28, 1970) is a former Algerian athlete, winner of 1500 m run at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Born in Tenes, Algeria, Noureddine Morceli rose to athletic prominence after winning the silver medal in the 1500 m at the World Junior Championships in 1988.
In 1990, he moved up to senior class and set the seasons best of 3:37.87 in 1500 m. He continued this dominance into 1991, when he broke the world indoor record for 1500 m at Seville on February 28, setting a new mark of 3:34.16. Only nine days later, on the same track, he won the 1500 m title at the World Indoor Championships. At the World Championships in Tokyo, Morceli was already a clear favourite in 1500 m and he won easily.
In the beginning of 1992, Morceli ran a new 1000 m indoor world record of 2:15.26. There seemed to be no greater certainty for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona later that year than Morceli. But the Olympic final was run at a woefully slow pace, with the field passing through the 800 m mark in a slower time than in the women's final. That was not the sort of pace to which Morceli had become accustomed, or that he was comfortable with, and when the frantic sprint for home began, he found himself unable to respond, eventually finishing disappointing seventh. But after the Olympics Morceli set a new 1500 m world record of 3:28.86.
At the World Championships in Stuttgart in 1993, the final of 1500 m started at a relatively slow pace, but Morceli was always in complete control, sprinting away in the last lap to win easily and retain his world title. Later in this year he would establish a new world mile record of 3:44.39.
In 1994, he set the new 3000 m world record, clocking 7:25.11. Morceli broke the 2000 m world record in the following season, setting a new mark of 4:47.88. Nine days later Morceli set the last world record of his magnificent career, when he lowered his own 1500 m record to 3:27.37. Later on that year he defended easily the 1500 m World Champion title in Gothenburg.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Morceli was again a clear favourite, and this time he won easily after his main concurrent Hicham El Guerrouj fell down on a final lap. In the World Championships at Athens, Morceli was fourth in 1500 m and in 1999, at Seville, he qualified for his fifth straight 1500 m final at a World Championships, where he dropped out at the bell when well out of medal contention. Morceli's last appearance at a major international championships was at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Also notable, Morceli was coached by his brother Abderrahmane who ran for Algeria in the Moscow Olympics of 1980 and in Los Angeles in 1984.
| Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in Men's 1500 m |
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Teddy Flack | Charles Bennett | Jim Lightbody (twice) | Mel Sheppard | Arnold Jackson | Albert Hill | Paavo Nurmi | Harry Larva | Luigi Beccali | Jack Lovelock | Henry Eriksson | Josy Barthel | Ron Delany | Herb Elliott | Peter Snell | Kip Keino | Pekka Vasala | John Walker | Sebastian Coe (twice) | Peter Rono | Fermín Cacho | Noureddine Morceli | Noah Ngeny | Hicham El Guerrouj |