Member of the Council of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), Jeannot Kouamé Kouadio is now spearheading the promotion of athletics in Côte d'Ivoire. In this interview, he confirms his willingness to serve African athletics.

Ivorian athletics has experienced tremendous growth for some time under your tenure. What is the secret of this success?

There is no secret actually. I have simply been implementing a project since 2018 for the development of athletics in Côte d'Ivoire. This same project earned me an award in 2011 in Lausanne. It is through the implementation of this project that we have athletes like Koné Maboudou and Cissé Gué. We're continuing to work on this project to produce more champions. But since it's a long-term process, we're being very patient. I must say that my advantage is that I studied athletics extensively from 2003 to 2008, moving from Europe to Africa. This gave me more knowledge in the field.

Can you provide an update on the current state of African athletics in light of recent international sporting events ?

It is an honor for me to answer your questions and to be one of the first to be approached in the context of this new communication program of the African Athletics Confederation.
Regarding the technical situation of athletics in Africa, we have seen constant progress in recent years. Indeed, Africa is one of the last continents to have emerged in the global athletics arena. For decades, Africa was virtually absent from the podiums, and it was very difficult for an African athlete to win a medal or to be among the best in the world. Today, this has become possible and is increasingly being confirmed.
Over the past two or three decades, Africa has gained a certain notoriety in several events, to the point where many believed that these events were reserved for Africans only. This situation has led to the naturalization of a significant number of African athletes who now represent non-African nationalities. This phenomenon deserves analysis.