A portrait of Ladji Doucouré - 110m Hurdles (© Getty Images)
Following a vote carried out by the French Federation’s Magazine, Athlétisme Magazine, Ladji Doucouré was voted as French Athlete of the Year for 2004.
The votes were so closed that had this been a race a photo finish would have been needed to determine the winner.
In the end the 110m Hurdles French record holder prevailed over Olympic bronze medallist Naman Keita. Christine Arron came in third.
Doucouré’s victory came as a surprise as Keita, the only French track and field individual medallist from Athens, was the outstanding favourite for this title.
Although in the lead for weeks, Keita was overtaken by Doucouré in the very last days of the voting process.
This award comes as a compensation for Doucouré who lost out on a seemingly secured silver medal when hitting the last barrier in the 110m Hurdles Olympic final which saw Xiang Liu of China equal the World record.
FFA for the IAAF
