Mohamed Lazhari

Mohamed Lazhari-Yamani (; born 12 April 1938) is an Algerian and French former gymnast. Born in Algiers, Lazhari was part of the French team at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He had represented Puteaux in the 1962 French Championships and won gold in the all-around. He left the club upon Algeria gaining its independence, training in Paris instead.

He then represented Algeria at the 1964 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Algerian Olympian. He was also designated as the nation's flagbearer at the games. In his later years, he was the president of the African Gymnastics Union and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun.

Early life Mohamed Lazhari-Yamani was born on 12 April 1938 in Algiers, French Algeria, in a kasbah. He started gymnastics at the age of twelve upon the request of his father to develop his body and pass time.

Gymnastics career Lazhari-Yamani was part of the French team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. He competed in every event, placing as high as 13th as part of the men's team event and 28th individually at the men's horizontal bar. Though in the same year, he had to decide whether to stay at the club or leave the club and represent Algeria as the nation gained independence, he chose the latter. At the games, competitors went up to Lazhari-Yemeni and asked facts about Algeria including its location and language. He resided alone at the Olympic Village and trained alone. He was selected to be the first flag bearer for Algeria at the Parade of Nations during the games' opening ceremony. He competed in every event besides the team event, placing 99th in the men's all-around In 2017, he was in attendance of an athletes' forum held by the Algerian Olympic Committee that honoured Olympic gold medalist Noureddine Morceli. The following year, he was contacted by the Japanese Embassy in Algeria and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 5th Class, Gold and Silver Rays, on 4 February.