Murielle Ahouré-Demps

Murielle Ahouré-Demps (born 23 August 1987) is an Ivorian sprinter who competes in the 60 meters, 100 m and 200 m. She was a double silver medalist at the 2013 world championships in Moscow. She came second in both the 100 and 200 meters at this event.[1] Ahouré was the gold medallist in the 60 m at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Murielle Ahouré-Demps
Murielle Ahouré in 2012
Personal information
Born (1987-08-23) 23 August 1987 (age 37)
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Country Ivory Coast
SportAthletics
Event(s)60 metres, 100 m, 200 m
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Ivory Coast
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Moscow 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2013 Moscow 200 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Birmingham 60 m
Silver medal – second place 2012 Istanbul 60 m
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sopot 60 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Marrakech 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Durban 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2014 Marrakech 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Durban 4x100 m relay

She also won a silver medal at 60 metres event at 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.[2] She was the 2009 NCAA Indoor Champion at 200 metres while running for the University of Miami. Ahouré's personal best at 100 m is 10.78 (Montverde, USA, 2016) and in 200 m 22.24 (Monaco, 2013).[2]

She holds African records in 60m and 200 metres indoor.[3] At the 2012 Summer Olympics she placed sixth in the 200 m and seventh in the 100 m.

She ran under seven seconds for the 60 metres for the first time in February 2013, becoming the eighth fastest woman ever with her time of 6.99 seconds.[4] In 2018 she won the gold medal in the 60 m at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships, and broke the African record with a time of 6.97 seconds (sixth fastest woman ever).[5]

Early life and career

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The daughter of General Mathias Doué, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Ivory Coast, Ahouré travelled a lot in her early life, living in France, China, Japan and Germany, before moving to the United States at the age of 14.[1] She took up athletics in her second year at high school, mostly as a way to make friends. After high school, she studied criminal law at George Mason University.[1] In her final year at university, she transferred to the University of Miami to work with Amy Deem.[who?][1] She took the 2009 NCAA indoor 200 m title, with a then world's best time. That year. she also twice broke the Ivory Coast 100 m record outdoors.[1]

In 2010, she moved to Houston after an injury-marred start to the season. She went to train under Allen Powell.[1] In 2011, she again broke the Ivorian record.

International career

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In 2012, she made her international debut for the Ivory Coast at the World Indoor Championships, winning a silver medal in the 60 m, with a new personal best. This was the first World Indoor Athletics for the Ivory Coast.[1] Despite breaking the Ivorian 100 m record again, she was unable to win a medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1]

In the 2013 indoor athletics season, she broke the African 60 m indoor record with a time of 7.00 seconds.[1] She was undefeated for the entire indoor season. At the 2013 World Athletics Championships, the 200 m was expected to be her stronger event, but she also managed to edge out defending champion Carmelita Jeter to win silver behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100 m. In doing so, she became the first Ivorian to win a World Athletics Championships medal and the first African woman to win a medal in the 100 or 200 m at the World Championships.[1] For her successes, she was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the National Order of Merit by President Alassane Ouattara.[1] She was also named the Ivory Coast's best sportsperson of the year.[1]

At the 2014 African Championships, she lost the 100 m to Blessing Okagbare, but won the 200 m which Okagbare did not participate in.[1]

In 2015, Ahouré won her first Diamond League 100 m at the Oslo meeting. At the World Championships that year, she did not make the 100 m final after finishing 4th in her semi-final, and in doing so aggravated a knee injury which prevented her from running the 200 m.[1]

The knee injury prevented her from training for eight months, causing her to miss the 2016 indoor season. She also moved training group, to Dennis Mitchell's group in Florida.[1] In March 2016 Ahouré launched her foundation which aims to help bring back sport in school, assist children's education and empower underprivileged women and children. In June, she claimed the African 100 m record from Blessing Okagbare.[1]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Ivory Coast
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 2nd 60 m 7.04
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 7th 100 m 11.00
6th 200 m 22.57
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia 2nd 100 m 10.93
2nd 200 m 22.32
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 2nd 60 m 7.01
African Championships Durban, South Africa 2nd 100 m 11.03
1st 200 m 22.36
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 9th (sf) 100 m 10.98
2016 African Championships Durban, South Africa 1st 100 m 10.99
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 44.29
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 10th (sf) 100 m 11.01
12th (sf) 200 m 22.59
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 4th 100 m 10.98
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st 60 m 6.97
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 5th 100 m 11.02
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 19th (sf) 100 m 11.28
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 20th (sf) 100 m 11.25
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 28th (h) 100 m 11.29
3rd (h) 4 × 100 m relay 41.901
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 4 × 100 m relay DQ

1Did not finish in the final

Personal bests

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Type Event Time Date Place Notes
Outdoor 100 metres 10.78 11 June 2016 Montverde, USA [6]
200 metres 22.24 19 July 2013 Monaco
Indoor 60 metres 6.97 2 March 2018 Birmingham, England 6th of all time, AR
  • All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "IAAF: Murielle Ahoure | Profile | Focus on Athletes Biography". iaaf.org. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b "IAAF profile". IAAF.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  3. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Ahoure defeats Allyson Felix in Rome 200m - Universal Sports". YouTube.
  4. ^ Brown, Matthew (16 February 2013). Ahour\xe9's sub-seven sprint steals the show in Birmingham. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-02.
  5. ^ Sutton, Nicola (2 March 2018). Report: women's 60m final - IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018. IAAF. Retrieved on 2018-03-02.
  6. ^ Cathal Dennehy (11 June 2016). "Ahoure powers to African 100m record of 10.78 in Florida". IAAF. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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Videos

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Records
Preceded by Women's 100 m African Record Holder
11 June 2016 – present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Ivory Coast
Rio de Janeiro 2016
Succeeded by