Hocine Bettir

Hocine Bettir had the unique opportunity to celebrate in front of his home crowd as he reached the second step of the podium at the 2018 African Championships in Algiers, Algeria.

Some months before, he had claimed silver at the Fazza World Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Bettir won his first medal at a major international competition in 2017. He took bronze in the men’s up to 65kg at the World Championships thanks to a 188kg lift, finishing behind Nigeria’s Paul Kehinde (220.5kg) and China’s Lei Liu (193kg).

He also competed at the 2014 and 2010 World Championships, ending fourth and 16th respectively.

Bettir made his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, but the pressure of competing on the biggest stage made him fail his three attempts.

In 2015, Bettir participated in the European Open Championships, finishing fifth.

He took up the sport in 2004. He is also a Sports Administrator and speaks four languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.