Élodie Ouédraogo (born 27 February 1981 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode) is a retired Belgiansprinter of Burkinabé descent, who specializes in the 200 metres[1] and 400 m hurdles. An Olympic gold medalist, her personal best time in the 200 m is 23.11 seconds, achieved in July 2004 in Brussels, while her personal best in the 400 m hurdles is 55.20, achieved at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[2]
Ouédraogo is also the joint third-fastest Belgian woman after Kim Gevaert and Olivia Borlée and equalling Nancy Callaerts with her best 100 metres time of 11.40. Her 200 metres best ranks her fourth amongst Belgian women after Gevaert, Borlée and Hanna Mariën. Her 400 m hurdles best places her as the second-fastest Belgian woman over the distance, after Ann Mercken.
Athletic career
In Ouédraogo's early career she concentrated on the 100 m hurdles, and participated in the 2000 World Junior Championships. She set a national record of 13.87 seconds for Burkina Faso, the country she represented until 2000.[3] Her personal best time while competing for Belgium is 13.34 seconds, achieved in August 2003 in Jambes. Her Burkinabé national record was surpassed by Béatrice Kamboulé in 2007.[4]
Ouédraogo represented Belgium at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She competed at the 4 x 100 m relay together with Gevaert, Mariën and Borlée. In their first-round heat they placed first in front of Great Britain, Brazil and Nigeria. Their time of 42.92 seconds was the third time overall out of sixteen participating nations. In the finals they finished in second place behind Russia in a national record time of 42.54 seconds,[1] though after re-testing samples in 2016, Yuliya Chermoshanskaya's tests revealed two illegal substances. The Russian team was disqualified for doping, and the Belgian's team silver medal was upgraded to a gold medal.[5]
She qualified for the semi-finals of the 400 m hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
