Hasna Benhassi

Hasna Benhassi

Hasna Benhassi (on the left) in Osaka 2007 with Janeth Jepkosgei and Mayte Martínez.
Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing  Morocco
Olympic Games
2004 Athens 800 m
2008 Beijing 800 m
World Championships
2005 Helsinki 800 m
2007 Osaka 800 m
World Indoor Championships
2001 Lisbon 1,500 m
Mediterranean Games
1997 Bari 800 m

Hasna Benhassi (Arabic: حسنة بنحسي; born June 1, 1978 in Marrakesh) is a Moroccan middle-distance runner.

She first came to international prominence at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, winning a surprise silver medal behind Kelly Holmes. She repeated this feat by winning silver at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland. At the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka she cemented her place as a perennial bridesmaid with another silver medal. She added another Olympic medal to her impressive resume with a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Benhassi is most noted for her strong finishing kick. She tends to sit back in the pack in the early stages of a race, and begin making her move only midway through the final lap. Often she successfully comes over the top of runners down the stretch, passing rivals to earn important medals. It is also her possible weakness as she often leaves herself just too much ground to make up to catch the gold medal.

In 2005, Benhassi was selected as the best sportsperson in Morocco by a survey conducted by the Moroccan Radio among 43 press institutions.

References


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