Ronald Pognon

At the 2002 European Championships he also finished fourth in 4 × 100 m relay with teammates David Patros, Issa-Aimé Nthépé and Jérôme Éyana.

He competed at the 2005 World Championships in both 100 and 200 metres, but did not reach the final; however, in the 4 × 100 m relay he won a gold medal together with teammates Ladji Doucouré, Eddy De Lépine and Lueyi Dovy.

He became the first Frenchman to go under 10 seconds, and only four Europeans had run faster: Francis Obikwelu (9.86), Linford Christie (9.87), Dwain Chambers (9.97) and Jason Gardener (9.98).

At the European Championships he helped win a bronze medal in the relay, behind Great Britain and Poland, together with an entirely new team: Oudéré Kankarafou, Pognon, Fabrice Calligny and David Alerte.

He returned to competition in 2008, running only 6.68 in the 60 m indoors but managing 10.13 seconds in July in Rethimno to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Competing in the 100 metres event, he placed third in his heat behind Tyrone Edgar and Darvis Patton in a time of 10.26 seconds.

Ronald Pognon (2nd from the left) during the 2010 European Championships .