Stéphane Diagana

Who is Stéphane Diagana?

Stéphane Diagana is a retired, French track and field sprinter and hurdler. His specialities were the 400 metres hurdles and the 4 x 400 metres relay.

Diagna won the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the 1997 World Championships in Athens and the 4 x 400 metres relay gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. In 2002 he won the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the European Championships in Munich. Diagana also set a new, European 400 metres hurdles outdoor record of 47.37 sec. in Lausanne, Switzerland on 5 July 1995. As of 1 November 2013, this European record still stands.

In his only Olympic appearance, Diagana finished in fourth position in the final of the 400 metres hurdles of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In that Olympics, his 4 x 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.

On 7 Apr 2008, Diagana was an Olympic torch runner for the 2008 Olympics. While he was running with the torch in Paris, Paris city councillor Sylvain Garel tried to snatch it from his hands.