Born in the West African nation of Guinea, Traore studied law at Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry.
During the 1993 presidential election, he was caught giving information to a political opposition group and detained.
He received medical and mental health treatment at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture in Bellevue Hospital, New York City.
[1] In June 2004, he was selected to be the relay runner to carry the Olympic Flame into the United Nations complex.
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.