Rashid Ramzi’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro Moroccan-born middle distance runner for Bahrain
Is Runner 
Athlete 
Middle-distance runner 
From Morocco 
Bahrain 
Type Sports 
Gender male
Birth 17 July 1980, Safi
Age: 40 years

Rashid Ramzi (Arabic: رشيد رمزي‎‎) (born July 17, 1980) is a Moroccan-Bahraini track and field athlete competing internationally for Bahrain in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Ramzi was investigated by the IAAF after the 2008 Summer Games and was stripped of his gold medal for doping.
Ramzi was born in Safi, Morocco. After transferring to Bahrain, he ascended to the top of the Asian scene, winning gold medals at the Asian Athletics Championships and the 2002 Asian Games. He set an Asian indoor record over 800 metres to take the silver at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships—his first global medal—and took part in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He reached the peak of his discipline the following year by becoming both the 800 m and 1500 m champion at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics – the first man to ever do such a double at the competition.
He failed to retain his titles at the 2007 World Championships, but still took the silver medal over 1500 m. At the 2008 Summer Olympics he was the recipient of the first ever medal for Bahrain at the Olympics – winning the 1500 m gold medal. However, his result did not stand and he was excluded from the sport for two years after his test came back positive for the banned blood-boosting substance CERA.

Career

Early competition and transfer

Ramzi was raised in Safi, and competed internationally for Morocco, winning the 1500 metres silver medal at the 1999 African Junior Athletics Championships and then winning at the national championships in 2001. until he joined the Bahraini armed forces and gained citizenship in 2002.

Following the nationality transfer, he began competing for Bahrain immediately – he won silver at the 2002 Asian Athletics Championships and then took the 1500 m gold at the 2002 Asian Games. He scored three 1500 m gold medals at regional championships in 2003, winning at the Pan Arab Athletics Championships, the Gulf Cooperation Council Championships, and beating all opposition at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships.

The 2004 season saw him break through onto the global scene – he won 800 metres and 1500 m golds at the 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships (setting an Asian record at the shorter distance) and then took the silver medal at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships the following month, improving his 800 m area record and just finishing behind Mbulaeni Mulaudzi. Competing on the European circuit, he took his first Golden League win in the 1500 m at the Golden Gala in Rome. Later that year, he represented his adopted country at the Olympic Games for the first time and he reached the semi-finals of the 1500 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Double world champion

At the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, Ramzi became the first athlete in history to win gold medals in the 800 m and 1500 m in the same World Championship, and the first man to perform this feat in a global championship (World Championship or Olympic Games) since Peter Snell did so in 1964.

He followed this with a bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games and improved to the silver medal in the 1500 m at the 2007 World Championships. Ramzi won the gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics the next year but he was later stripped of the Olympic title.

Olympic scandal

In April 2009, the Bahrain Olympic Committee reported Ramzi tested positive for doping at the Beijing Games. Ramzi tested positive for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO. Ramzi’s backup “B” sample was tested on June 18, 2009 and in July 2009 it was announced Ramzi’s “B” sample has tested positive as well. In November 2009, Ramzi was stripped of his gold medal.

He still spends much of his time in Morocco to train at high altitude (the highest point in Bahrain is only 440 ft. above sea level).

Personal bests

Distance Mark Date Location
800 m 1:44.05 July 17, 2006 Madrid, Spain
1,500 m 3:29.14 July 14, 2006 Rome, Italy
1 mile 3:51.33 June 4, 2005 Eugene, Oregon, United States

Achievements

Ramzi (left) taking the silver at the 2007 World Championships

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Morocco
1999 African Junior Championships Tunis, Tunisia 2nd 1500 m
Representing  Bahrain
2002 Asian Championships Colombo, Sri Lanka 2nd 1500 m
Asian Games Busan, South Korea 1st 1500 m
2003 Gulf Cooperation Council Championships Kuwait City, Kuwait 1st 1500 m
Asian Championships Manila, Philippines 1st 1500 m
Pan Arab Championships Amman, Jordan 1st 1500 m
2004 Asian Indoor Championships Tehran, Iran 1st 800 m
1st 1500 m
World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd 800 m
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 11th (semis) 1500 m
2005 World Cross Country Championships Saint-Galmier, France 32nd Short race
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 1st 800 m
1st 1500 m
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 8th 1500 m
2006 Asian Games Doha, Qatar 3rd 1500 m
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 8th (semis) 800 m
2nd 1500 m
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 5th 1500 m
Olympic Games Beijing, China 1st (DQ) 1500 m
You May Also Like

Meat Loaf’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Meat Loaf Net Worth: Meat Loaf is an American musician and actor who has a net worth of $40 million dollars. Over the past several decades, Meat Loaf has transformed himself into a larger-than-life figure in the entertainment industry. He has released 12 solo studio albums and has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows. Meat Loaf’s debut solo album, 1977’s “Bat Out of Hell” is one of the best-selling albums in history with sales of more than 43 million copies. The 14x Platinum album continues to sell an estimated 200,000 copies each year, more than four decades after its release, and it spent nine years on the music charts. As an actor, Meat Loaf is known for notable roles such as Eddie in the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975) and Robert “Bob” Paulson in “Fight Club” (1999). In 1999, he released “To Hell and Back: An Autobiography,” and it was turned into a VH1 TV movie, “Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back,” in 2000. Early Life: Meat Loaf was born Marvin Lee Aday on September 27, 1947, in Dallas, Texas. His parents, Wilma and Orvis, owned the Griffin Grocery Company, and Wilma taught school and sang with the Vo-di-o-do Girls gospel group. Orvis, a former police officer, was an alcoholic who would sometimes disappear for days. Meat Loaf attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he appeared in productions of “The Music Man” and “Where’s Charley?” He graduated in 1965, then enrolled at Lubbock Christian College. He later transferred to North Texas State University, but after his mother died in 1967 and left him an inheritance, he dropped out and moved to Los Angeles. Music Career: Meat Loaf’s first band, Meat Loaf Soul, debuted in 1968, opening for Them at the Cave in Huntington Beach. The band went through several lead guitarists and name changes, and in 1970, Meat Loaf was cast in a Detroit production of the rock musical “Hair.” Motown Records invited Meat Loaf and “Hair” co-star Shaun “Stoney” Murphy to record an album with them, and “Stoney & Meatloaf” was released in October 1971. He later returned to “Hair,” appearing in a Broadway production, and he met composer/lyricist Jim Steinman at an audition for Jim’s musical “More Than You Deserve.” Meat Loaf was cast in the show, and he went on to collaborate with Steinman on several albums, including “Bat Out of Hell.” In 1973, Meat Loaf landed the roles of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott in the original L.A. production of “The Rocky Horror Show,” which ran for nine months and led to a film version in 1975. Meat Loaf began working on “Bat Out of Hell” in 1972, and his songs were rejected by several record companies before Cleveland International Records signed him to a record deal. Todd Rundgren agreed to produce and perform on the album, and it was released in October 1977, eventually becoming one of the most commercially-successful albums of all time. Meat Loaf went to release 11 more solo albums; 1993’s “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell” was certified 5x Platinum, and “Welcome to the Neighbourhood” (1995) and “Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose” (2006) both went Platinum. His albums spawned popular singles such as “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” and “”Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” Film and Television Career: In 1975, Meat Loaf played Eddie in the cult film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and he appeared as a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” in 1978 and 1981. He also appeared in the “Saturday Night Live” film “Wayne’s World” (1992), Steve Martin’s “Leap of Faith” (1992), and the horror film “Stage Fright” (2014), and he played Jack Black’s father in “Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny” (2006). In 1999, he played Bob Paulsen in “Fight Club,” and he had to wear a fat suit full of bird seed (weighing more than 100 pounds) for the role and needed an oxygen mask after each take of his fight scene. Meat Loaf has also appeared in several television projects, including “Tales from the Crypt” (1992), “The Outer Limits” (2000), “Ghost Hunters” (2009 and 2010), “Monk” (2009), and “Glee” (2010). He had a regular role on Syfy’s “Ghost Wars” (2017), voiced himself on the “Chef Aid” episode of “South Park” (1998), and competed on “The Celebrity Apprentice” (2001), coming in third place. Personal Life: Meat Loaf married Leslie G. Edmonds on February 23, 1979, less than a month after meeting her, and became stepfather to her daughter, Pearl. The couple moved from New York to Connecticut, and they welcomed daughter Amanda on January 21, 1981. While living in various Connecticut towns, Meat Loaf coached children’s softball and baseball teams. He moved back to California in 1998, and his marriage to Leslie ended in 2001. Meat Loaf went on to wed Deborah Gillespie in 2007, and the couple moved to Austin, Texas, in 2012. Meat Loaf changed his first name to Michael in 1984, and he is a Christian and a sports fan, supporting the New York Yankees baseball team and the Hartlepool United English football team. He also participates in fantasy baseball and has played in celebrity golf tournaments. Meat Loaf followed a vegetarian diet for more than a decade and went vegan in January 2020 (“Veganuary”) while promoting Frankie & Benny’s new vegan menu items. In 2011, he stated that he has had 18 concussions, and he collapsed on stage during a 2003 London concert (due to Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome), a 2011 Pittsburgh concert, and a 2016 Edmonton concert. In 2019, Meat Loaf fell off of a stage at the Texas Frightmare convention, breaking his collarbone. Awards and Honors: In 1993, Meat Loaf won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo for “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” That year, he also received an Echo Award for Best International Rock/Pop Male Artist and a Brit Award for Best Selling Album & Single Act. In 2007, “Bat Out of Hell” won the Classic Album award at the “Classic Rock” Roll Of Honour award show. Real Estate: In 2005, Meat Loaf paid just under $3 million for a 7,142 square foot home in Calabasas, California. The home, which was featured in a 2008 issue of “Architectural Digest,” features seven bedrooms, a screening room, and a swimming pool. He previously owned a home in LA’s Brentwood neighborhood which he sold to actor Greg Kinnear in 2001 for $3.6 million.
Read More