Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Zarif Shabaneh, known as Steve Shabaneh , is a bodybuilder born in Hebron in 1948 and moved to Spain in 1969. He became famous in the 1970s. Sources differ about him , sometimes indicating that he represented Palestine in a number of Arab and international championships, and other times that he represented Spain.
His biography
Zarif Abdel Ghaffar Shabana was born in 1948 in Hebron , and received his primary education at Osama Bin Munqidh School in the same city, then completed his preparatory and secondary education at Bethlehem Secondary School. He began practicing bodybuilding in Bethlehem , in order to distance himself from the political atmosphere at the time, as he was a member of one of the Fatah cells that was active in Bethlehem, and the situation became difficult when this cell fell, so he was forced to move to Spain in 1969, and began practicing bodybuilding seriously there, until he began participating in competitions in 1971. Another reason for his move to Spain was to complete his university studies, as he joined the Faculty of Medicine in Madrid , and at the same time worked as part of the Palestinian delegation at that time. It is noteworthy that he never practiced medicine, and that he was a member of the Ahli Al-Khalil Club .
He returned to Palestine with Yasser Arafat in 1994 after the Oslo Accords , and was known as an "athlete, soldier and politician". He was also offered the Ministry of Sports and Health within the Palestinian National Authority , but he refused for several reasons, including that he was married and had children and did not want to leave them, in addition to saying that " Palestine is no longer as I left it, and I did not agree with some things politically ". After that, he withdrew and left politics completely. In an interview conducted by the newspaper El Periodico in July 2011, he indicated that he currently has no political connections. He also indicated in the same interview that the name "Steve" is related to his family name on his mother's side, which is of English origin during the British Mandate of Palestine .
Khaled Ajawi mentions in his book “The Palestinian Sports Movement in the Diaspora” that Zarif Shabana achieved a number of international championships, including: “ Hercules Championship in 1975, Spain Championship in 1976, fourth place in Europe and the world in 1977 in Paris , third place in the world championship in 1978 in Madrid, Mr. Universe World Championship in 1979, Mr. World World Championship in 1979 in Verona , Italy, Mr. World World Championship in 1980 in Paris, Mr. International World Championship in 1981 in Belgium . He has the most beautiful, well-proportioned body in the world according to a European press poll in 1982. ”
His name also appeared in an old copy of the Palestinian “Al-Hasad Al-Riyadi” magazine under the title “Our Ambassadors Abroad: The Palestinian World Champion Zarif Shabana Represents Our Cause in a Special Way”, and referred to him as the Palestinian Steve , and stated that he represented Palestine in a number of Arab and international championships, including: “ Arab: Palestine and Kuwait Championship, Mr. Asia and Arab Championship, Mediterranean Championship. International: World Championship in London in 1974, Verona Championship (Italy) in 1975: He came in third place in the short category, World Championship in London in 1976, he came in second place, World Championship in France in 1977, he came in first place, World Championship in Madrid (Spain) in 1978 for air, he came in first place, World Championship in London in 1979, he came in first place in the short category, World Championship in Verona (Italy) in 1979, and he won the title of Mr. World and first place in all categories .”
He appeared on the cover of Iron Man in July 1980, with the caption: " Zarif Chaban, 1979 Class I, Mr. Universe ." Sources mention that he was one of those who contributed to raising the level of bodybuilding in Spain, and he had represented it several times in international competitions, including Mr. World, Mr. Intercontinental, and Mr. Universe.
He currently resides in Madrid , Spain , where he owns a sports supplement store. He also visits his family in Hebron approximately every two years, and holds Spanish citizenship.
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