Boubacar Traore (b. 1971?) is a

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n political activist,

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

survivor and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner.

Biography

Born in the

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

n nation of Guinea, Traore studied law at

Gamal Abdel Nasser University Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry (in French ''L'Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry'', UGANC), is the largest university in Guinea. It is located in Dixinn Commune, Conakry, Guinea. The name is generally shortened to the University ...

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

. During the 1993 presidential election, he was caught giving information to a political opposition group and detained. During his detention, he was beaten so severely that his mangled right leg developed

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

and had to be

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...

at the hip." The Neediest Cases; Immigrant Has Medals for Running, and Ambition for Wider Success"
by Stephanie Rosenblaum, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', November 3, 2004 In 2002, Traore left Guinea for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he was granted

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. He received medical and mental health treatment at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture in Bellevue Hospital, New York City. On June 15, 2003, he ran his first race, a 5-mile course, finishing in 76 minutes on crutches. He was subsequently given a prosthetic running leg. In June 2004, he was selected to be the relay runner to carry the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...

into the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

complex. By December 2006, Traore had run the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

five times,"Robin Hood Honors Four New York City Heroes"
, press release, December 12, 2006 as well as other races including the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

. He thus gained a degree of celebrity in regional running circles. A volunteer who runs with Traore notes, "I don't know how many times I've heard spectators and other runners, including elite athletes at the front of the pack of the New York City marathon, shout to Boubacar, 'You're my hero.'"Andy Romanelli"
achillestrackclub.net Traore was studying to take the

LSAT The Law School Admission Test (LSAT ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension and logical reasoning. The test is ...

tests in 2006.

References

1971 births Living people Paralympic athletes for Guinea Guinean amputees Guinean refugees Guinean prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Guinea Guinean expatriate sportspeople in the United States {{Guinea-athletics-bio-stub