Stéphane Diagana (born 23 July 1969 in

Saint-Affrique Saint-Affrique (; Languedocien: ''Sant Africa'') is a commune in the Aveyron department in Southern France. History Saint-Affrique grew in the 6th century around the tomb of St. Africain, bishop of Comminges. In the 12th century a fortre ...

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

) is a retired, French

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter and

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. His specialities were the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

and the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

. Diagana won the

gold medal at the 1997 World Championships in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and the

gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 2002 he won the

gold medal at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Diagana also set a new, European 400 metres hurdles outdoor record of 47.37 sec. in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 5 July 1995. This record stood until June 2019. In his only Olympic appearance, Diagana finished in fourth position in the final of the

of the 1992 Olympics in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. In that Olympics, his 4 × 400 metres relay team was eliminated in the heats. Diagana retired from competition in 2004 and became a television commentator and advisor to the

Fédération française d'athlétisme The French Athletics Federation (, FFA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in France. History FFA is the heir to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), founded November 20, 1887. In 1912, a French del ...

(French Athletics Federation).European 400m hurdles record holder Diagana injured in a road accident
.

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (EAA, more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for Sport of athletics, athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. E ...

(22 January 2011). Retrieved on 23 January 2011. On 7 April 2008, Diagana was an Olympic torch runner for the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

. While he was running with the torch in

, Paris city councillor Sylvain Garel tried to snatch it from his hands.Chris Buckley and Thierry Leveque (7 April 2008)
Protests turn Paris Olympic torch run into farce

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

. Retrieved 29 July 2010. On 21 January 2011, Diagana was seriously injured in road accident while he was cycling along a road of the Col de Vence in the department of

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

in southeast

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionOdile Lesage, with whom he has three children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diagana, Stephane 1969 births Living people People from Saint-Affrique Sportspeople from Aveyron Athletes from Occitania (administrative region) French sportspeople of Senegalese descent French male hurdlers French male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for France World Athletics Championships athletes for France World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite ESCP Business School alumni Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1993 Mediterranean Games World Athletics Championships winners French Athletics Championships winners 20th-century French sportsmen