Ghada Shouaa occupies a special place in Syrian hearts. An Olympic athlete, Shouaa secured her country's first and only gold medal at the 1996 Summer Games, when she battled through seven different disciplines to become the best heptathlete in the world.
However, had the talented star followed her initial sporting passion, her Atlanta dream would never have been realised: Syria would still be waiting for its first Olympic gold medallist.
Born in Muhardeh on September 10, 1972, Shouaa's first sport was basketball, where she represented the Syrian national team for four years, before her single-mindedness opened her eyes to athletics.
"I started to play basketball and athletics along with other sports at school in 1987 and was invited to the Syrian national basketball team in 1988," she says in an exclusive interview with Emirates Business.
"Later, I quit basketball because I did not realise my ambition and I selected athletics because it is an individual sport.
I felt that athletics could enable me to reach a world-class level, unlike basketball in which I won titles only at the level of Arab countries with the clubs, Al Jalaa and Al Thawra.
"I used to watch sports competitions on TV, especially athletics competitions, and I had the enthusiasm to become an Olympic champion. I had in my mind a plan to be one of the stars of athletics."
Shouaa debuted in the Heptathlon – a track and field combined event consisting the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin and 800m – at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, finishing a commendable 18th in spite of injury.
Her breakthrough came three years later, when she won the acclaimed heptathlon meet in Austria's Gotzis – scoring 6,715 points – a success that catapulted Shouaa into the limelight at the 1995 IAAF World Championships in Gothenburg. After co-favourite Sabine Braun dropped out with an injury, Shouaa won the title with a comfortable margin.
The victory laid the foundations for success in Atlanta, where she pipped Belarusian Natasha Sazanovich (silver) and Denise Lewis (bronze) of Great Britain to win the gold by garnering 6,780 points from her seven events.
"I expected to win the heptathlon gold medal at the Olympics in 1996, because I had won the gold at the IAAF World Championships in Gothenburg before the start of the Olympics. I was determined to defeat the American Jackie Joyner-Kersee [voted the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated for Women], who still holds the world record today. I resolved to give my country its first Olympic gold in the centenary of Olympic games."
"Before winning the Olympic gold, I was crowned a champion in many international and Asian events and my name was known in sporting circles. After I won the heptathlon competition in Atlanta 1996, I felt great happiness and could not sleep, because I did not believe I had become an Olympic champion," says Shouaa, who received a car from Syrian President Bashar Al Assad for her accomplishment.
"I was very happy because I did something which has never been done before by anyone in my country. When I came back home from Atlanta, there was a great reception and Damascus's roads leading to the airport were crowded by fans who came out to greet me. Then, when I arrived in Muhardeh, people organised a huge reception ceremony. I had never seen anything like that before."
That Shouaa triumphed on sport's grandest stage was all the more unbelievable given the basic facilities on offer in her homeland. A delegation of western press travelled to Syria after the Olympics to interview the new gold medallist, only to be surprised by the spartan training environment there.
"I used to train in Syria, but some of my training camps were held in Europe in preparation for the various competitions," she explains. "There were no suitable facilities for preparation in Syria. I won the Olympic gold thanks to my personal effort, not good planning by the Syrian Athletics Federation. When the western press came to Syria and saw how I trained, they were astonished because I was crowned an Olympic champion without training at good sports facilities."
A serious back injury sustained in December 1996 – described by the heptathlete as "the worst moment of my career" – ruined Shouaa's campaign the following season and affected the Syrian so badly that she was unable to make a serious comeback until 1999, when she finished third at the IAAF World Championship in Seville.
Shouaa attempted to defend her Olympic title in Sydney in 2000, but once again was injured and did not even finish the first event. After the disappointment, the then-27-year-old reluctantly decided to call time on her career.
"A retirement ceremony has not been organised for me," she reveals, disappointed. "Although Syrian sports officials promised me on two different occasions that they would arrange a big ceremony. But, until now, it has not happened."
Shouaa now resides in Germany, where she grew to love the European country during various spells of rehabilitation from her injuries. Despite her emigration, the Olympian feels she can still influence Arab sports, through coaching and passing on experience gathered from years.
"After I spent many years in Germany for treatment, I felt comfortable there," explains Shouaa. "I learnt in that country there were many things that benefit me in my life and future. I also coached for a short time there.
"I believe I can benefit young generations through my experience and my name. My presence with those generations gives them enthusiasm – Arab sports leaders should pay attention to this point.
"Wherever Olympic champions are, sports leaderships should think how to benefit from them. I admire Qatar, which I consider to be the capital of Arab sports, but its Aspire Academy has only western experts, when there are many efficient Arabs who could contribute."
Should Shouaa never contribute to Arab sport again, she can still feel proud to have left an indelible impression on the region's sporting landscape, 13 years ago in Atlanta. It is an occasion she remembers well, of course.
"My best memory is when I stood on the podium and received the Olympic gold and the Syrian anthem was played in the stadium – it was an unforgettable moment."
A moment not forgotten by the Syrian people, either.
Syrian's success
1991:
- Gold – Syrian National Basketball Championship
- Silver – Asian Athletics
Championships (Malaysia)
1993:
- Silver – Mediterranean Games (France)
1994:
- Gold – Asian Games (Hiroshima)
- Bronze – IAAF World Championships (St Petersburg)
1995:
- Gold – IAAF World Championships (Gothenburg)
1996:
- Gold – Olympics (Atlanta)
1999:
- Gold – High Jump, Pan Arab Games (Jordan)
- Gold – Javelin, Pan Arab Games (Jordan)
- Bronze – IAAF World Championships (Seville)
(*Heptathlon unless stated)
Going for gold: How Ghada won
EVENT PERFORMANCE POSITION POINTS
100m Hurdles 13.72secs 17 (tied) 1,018
High Jump 1.86m 1 (tied) 1,054
Shot Put 15.95m 1 925
200m 23.85secs 2 995
Long Jump 6.26m 13 930
Javelin 55.7m 1 971
800m 2:15.45secs 8 887
Total: 6,780
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