World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Algeria’s former Algerian Athletics Federation president and World Athletics Council member Jamel Simohamed died on October 13 at the age of 85.
Simohamed held senior positions within both the IAAF (now World Athletics) and the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). He was a lifelong contributor to athletics and youth development at international, continental and national levels, and held the position of Chair of the IAAF School and Youth Commission from 2005 to 2014.
Simohamed was born on January 15, 1940, and became a multiple national champion in the 800m and 1500m, as well as a 1500m finalist at the inaugural African Games in 1965, during his own athletics career.
He also studied sport and physical education teaching in Strasbourg during that time, and went on to become a teacher, trainer and coach who devoted his life to developing Algerian and international sport.
At a national level, Simohamed was technical director in athletics before becoming president of the Algerian Athletics Federation and the Algerian Federation of School Sport.
He was a member of the Confederation of African Athletics and was technical delegate at numerous continental and international events, including the World Championships and Olympic Games. He was also a member of the Cross Country and Road Running Committee from 1984 to 1991.
But his biggest impact came in sports development, particularly in the field of youth participation and coach education. The programmes he helped to build, such as Kids’ Athletics, continue to grow today.
Under Simohamed’s guidance, the School and Youth Commission became a cornerstone of the IAAF’s development strategy. He helped to take the Kids’ Athletics programme to more than 50 Member Federations through partnerships with national education ministries.
He believed in education as the foundation of athletic excellence, ensuring that coach and lecturer certification programmes reached every continent, and was deeply engaged in making sure that athletics remained a sport for life.
SOURCE: WORLD ATHLETICS
