With a performance of 6942 points at the Hypo-Meeting, which moved her into the world all-time Top 25 and she went down in history as the best Asian and Arab heptathlete.

[1] Shouaa was born to a Greek Orthodox Christian family in the small Syrian city of Mhardeh in the Hama Governorate.

[6] Growing up in rural Syria, Ghada Shouaa first realised her sporting potential at the age of 12 when she managed to catch a rabbit that had escaped from the hands of an old man in her village.

[1] In 1991, Shouaa took part in a competitive heptathlon in Aleppo for the first time and set a new Syrian national record with a points tally of 4,010.

In Atlanta, three months later, she confirmed her status as the best heptathlete at the time, winning Syria's first Olympic gold medal.

During a visit to Syria in 2013 or 2014 in the midst of civil war, Shouaa appeared in a picture with a heavy machine gun while accompanying the National Defence Forces, a branch of the Syrian Army.