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Indoor Marathon race...
Indoor Marathon race...
Item # 581200
October 22, 1928
ALBANY EVENING NEWS, Albany, New York, October 22, 1928.
* Indoor Marathon race
* Early Madison Square Garden
* El Ouafi
This 26 page newspaper has one column headlines on page 18 that include: "JOLIE RAY LOSES THRILLING RACE AT NEW YORK", "Arab Too Strong for Chesty Runner in Madison Square Garden" and more (see photos).
Other news, sports and advertisements of the day. Light browning, little margin wear, otherwise good condition.
wikipedia notes: Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi (October 15, 1898 – October 18, 1959) born in Setif was a French athlete during the time Algeria was part of France. In 1928, he won the Olympic gold medal in the marathon.
El Ouafi was born near the town of Sétif, joining the French military regiment there later (at the time, Algeria was French territory). One of his superior officers noticed El Ouafi's outstanding athletic abilities, and decided to send him to a military sports competition in France. He made a good impression there, and was allowed to enter qualification for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris in the marathon event.
Boughèra El Ouafi managed to qualify, and completed his first Olympic marathon, running for France, in seventh position. This good result allowed him to prepare more extensively for the next Games, held in Amsterdam. In the 1928 competition, he ran behind the leaders for the first three quarters of the race, overtaking them some 5 km before the end. He was never caught by any of the other runners, and finished first, 26 seconds ahead of second-placed Manuel Plaza from Chile.
After his surprise victory, El Ouafi toured the United States. However, the money he earned with this trip disqualified him as an amateur, causing him to leave the sport, and he opened a cafe in Paris. El Ouafi remained forgotten until 1956, when another Algerian, Alain Mimoun, also won the Olympic marathon. Reporters went to seek out the other Algerian who had won 28 years earlier, and found him a pauper.
El Ouafi was killed while in a café, three days after his 61st birthday, by members of the National Liberation Front after he had refused to support them.
* Indoor Marathon race
* Early Madison Square Garden
* El Ouafi
This 26 page newspaper has one column headlines on page 18 that include: "JOLIE RAY LOSES THRILLING RACE AT NEW YORK", "Arab Too Strong for Chesty Runner in Madison Square Garden" and more (see photos).
Other news, sports and advertisements of the day. Light browning, little margin wear, otherwise good condition.
wikipedia notes: Ahmed Boughèra El Ouafi (October 15, 1898 – October 18, 1959) born in Setif was a French athlete during the time Algeria was part of France. In 1928, he won the Olympic gold medal in the marathon.
El Ouafi was born near the town of Sétif, joining the French military regiment there later (at the time, Algeria was French territory). One of his superior officers noticed El Ouafi's outstanding athletic abilities, and decided to send him to a military sports competition in France. He made a good impression there, and was allowed to enter qualification for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris in the marathon event.
Boughèra El Ouafi managed to qualify, and completed his first Olympic marathon, running for France, in seventh position. This good result allowed him to prepare more extensively for the next Games, held in Amsterdam. In the 1928 competition, he ran behind the leaders for the first three quarters of the race, overtaking them some 5 km before the end. He was never caught by any of the other runners, and finished first, 26 seconds ahead of second-placed Manuel Plaza from Chile.
After his surprise victory, El Ouafi toured the United States. However, the money he earned with this trip disqualified him as an amateur, causing him to leave the sport, and he opened a cafe in Paris. El Ouafi remained forgotten until 1956, when another Algerian, Alain Mimoun, also won the Olympic marathon. Reporters went to seek out the other Algerian who had won 28 years earlier, and found him a pauper.
El Ouafi was killed while in a café, three days after his 61st birthday, by members of the National Liberation Front after he had refused to support them.
Category: The 20th Century
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