The 1996 Arab Junior Athletics Championships was the seventh edition of the international athletics competition for under-20 athletes from Arab countries. It took place in Latakia, Syria. A total of 41 athletics events were contested, 22 for men and 19 for women. Morocco, a regional power in the sport, did not send a team to the meeting.Pan Arab Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-22.

The road race competition was dropped from the programme, matching the change at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics and a general move away from road running events for junior athletes. A women's 5000 metres replaced the 3000 metres, but this was a short-lived change as the 3000 m was brought back the following edition. This was the last time the women's 10,000 metres was held (the 5000 m taking its place at future editions (a change also reflected at the world junior level).

Algeria topped the medal table with twelve gold medals, closely followed by Tunisia with ten golds. Saudi Arabia managed seven gold medals despite not participating in the women's section. Sudan won its first titles at the competition, courtesy of Mohammed Yagoub's middle-distance double.

In the men's section, Algeria provided the most prominent athletes. Abderrahmane Hammad improved one place from the last edition to win the high jump – an event he won an Olympic medal in four years later.Athletics Men's High Jump Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-02-22. Two others here would medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics: 800 metres bronze medallist Djabir Saïd-Guerni and 1500 metres runner-up Ali Saïdi-Sief. Two Saudi Arabian medallists later became successful seniors: Mukhlid Al-Otaibi (5000 m runner-up here) did a long-distance double at the 2002 Asian Games; 15-year-old Hamdan Al-Bishi won a 200 m bronze in Latakia and won numerous medals at Asian level.Asian Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-22. Tunisia's Sofiane Labidi won a 200 m/400 m double and later won African and Arab medals as a senior.African Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-22. Jean-Claude Rabbath, runner-up in the high jump, was Lebanon's first ever medallist at the tournament.

In the women's section Algeria's Baya Rahouli was dominant: she won the 100 metres, long jump and triple jump titles, and a shot put bronze. This versatility continued at the 1997 Pan Arab Games, where she was a quadruple gold medallist.Pan Arab Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-22. Double sprint medallist Nahida Touhami would also become a senior champion at the Arab Games. Fatma Lanouar was a double medallist in middle-distance and was a two-time Mediterranean Games champion later in her career.Mediterranean Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-22.

Medal summary

Men 100 metres 10.84 10.97 11.13200 metres 21.68 21.79 22.05400 metres 46.77 CR 47.59 47.74800 metres 1:47.44 CR 1:49.1 1:50.21500 metres 3:40.5 CR 3:42.8 3:44.65000 metres 14:08.4 CR 14:37.3 14:47.210,000 metres 31:51.6 31:55.7 32:13.9110 m hurdles 14.86 15.22 15.34400 m hurdles 51.59 51.86 52.633000 metres steeplechase 8:59.64 9:04.38 9:12.484 × 100 m relay 41.31 41.7 42.04 × 400 m relay 3:12.7 3:13.1 3:15.210,000 m walk 48:24.0 48:44.4 49:34.8High jump 2.11 m CR 2.05 m 2.05 mPole vault 4.80 m 4.75 m 4.60 mLong jump 7.03 m 6.90 m 6.80 mTriple jump 15.80 m CR 15.44 m 15.25 mShot put 15.80 m CR 15.60 m 15.38 mDiscus throw 49.90 m CR 48.44 m 48.30 mHammer throw 58.38 m 58.10 m 55.16 mJavelin throw 64.38 m 62.26 m 55.92 mDecathlon 6679 pts 6480 pts 6110 pts

Women 100 metres 12.25 12.28 12.83200 metres 25.31 25.74 25.97400 metres 57.20 57.85 58.24800 metres 2:12.49 2:15.08 2:16.151500 metres 4:29.22 CR 4:30.48 4:31.395000 metres 17:35.3 17:44.2 17:44.810,000 metres 40:58.40 41:04.42 41:12.26100 m hurdles 14.55 CR 14.61 17.23400 m hurdles 63.44 64.52 66.684 × 100 m relay 47.46 CR 48.79 52.614 × 400 m relay 3:54.1 3:56.9 4:12.25000 m walk 30:30.3 31:15.6 31:40.2High jump 1.61 m 1.55 m 1.55 mLong jump 5.82 m CR 5.15 m 5.04 mTriple jump 13.84 m CR 11.70 m 10.92 mShot put 12.44 m 11.44 m 11.12 mDiscus throw 40.20 m 35.86 m 35.52 mJavelin throw 37.00 m 34.94 m 33.86 mHeptathlon 4151 pts 3970 pts 2780 pts

Medal table

References