Algeria’s Head of State Abdelkader Bensalah awarded track and field athlete Taoufik Makhloufi, 2nd world champion in Doha 2019 in 1500m.,  Olympic winner in London 2012 and silver medalist at Rio Olympics in the 800m. and 1500m. in 2016, the Medal of the Order of National Merit (rank of Ahid), at the seat of the Presidency of the Republic, for his efforts and performances in the different continental and international sports events.

The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Raouf Salim Bernaoui, the President of the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee and member of the IOC, Mr. Mustapha Berraf, the Secretary General of the Presidency, Mr. Noureddine Ayadi and the President of the Algerian Athletics Federation, Mr. Abdelhakim Dib.

The medal awarded to Taoufik Makhloufi is a tribute to his entire sports career, rich in performances in the 800m and 1500m specialties. Makhloufi was also honored for the new national record he set recently and the several medals he won in the Olympic Games and different tournaments at both African and international levels, the latest of which the silver medal he snatched in the 1500m event at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.