Gabriel Tiacoh (February 9, 1963 – April 2, 1992) was a sprinter from

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

who specialised in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. He is best known for winning his nation's first Olympic medal, in the 400 meters in 1984. A former African record holder, he was the African champion over the distance in 1984 and 1989, as well as being the silver medallist in 1985 and 1988. He competed at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

in 1983 and 1987, finishing seventh in the 400 m final at the latter edition. He represented Côte d'Ivoire at the Olympics for a second time at the 1988 Seoul Games, but did not make the final. He died of

tuberculous meningitis Tuberculous meningitis, also known as TB meningitis or tubercular meningitis, is a specific type of bacterial meningitis caused by the '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' infection of the meninges—the system of membranes which envelop the central ...

in 1992 in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

at the age of 29, survived by his only daughter Alexis Tiacoh. He had a personal best of 44.30 seconds for the 400 m.

Career

He took part in the inaugural

, and was knocked out in the quarter-final stage of the men's 400 m. In 1984 he started by winning the

event at the

African Championships in Athletics The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organise ...

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

. A few weeks later, at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, he managed to win the silver medal with 44.54 seconds, a new African record. At 20 years of age, Tiacoh had become the first Olympic medal winner from a

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

n country. He also ran in the 4×400 metres relay at the competition, but the men's team (including Georges Kablan Degnan, Avognan Nogboum and René Djédjémel Mélédjé) was knocked out in the semi-finals. He lost his continental 400 m title to

Innocent Egbunike Innocent Ejima Egbunike (born 30 November 1961) is a former sprinter from Nigeria. He studied at Azusa Pacific University, where he still holds the school record at 400 metres and the automatically timed NAIA meet record at 200 metres. M ...

at the 1985 African Championships in Athletics, although Tiacoh still managed to win a silver medal. The following year he improved his African 400 m record twice; first with a run of 44.32, then another of 44.30 seconds (which was the fastest by any athlete that season). He also managed to become the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion that year. Tiacoh ran at the

1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 ...

and easily progressed through the heats to the final. However, he only managed to finish in seventh place in the 400 m final as he could not match his previous form (his semi-final time of 44.69 s would have been enough to gain the bronze). At the 1988 African Championships in Athletics, he was again beaten into second place by Egbunike. The Côte d'Ivoire team managed a silver medal in the relay event. Tiacoh represented his country at the Olympics for a second time, but he could not repeat his medal success and was eliminated in the quarter-finals after finishing in fifth place. He helped the Ivorian relay team to the Olympic semi-final, but they finished in sixth position and did not qualify for the final. His final year of major competitions was 1989: he regained his 400 m African title at the

1989 African Championships in Athletics The 1989 African Championships in Athletics were held in Lagos, Nigeria between 4 and 8 August. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table See also * 1989 in athletics (track and field) External linksResults– GBR Athletics ...

and also won a gold medal at the first

Jeux de la Francophonie The Jeux de la Francophonie (Canadian English: ''Francophonie Games''; British English: ''Francophone Games'') are a combination of artistic and sporting events for the Francophonie, mostly French-speaking nations and former colonies of France, ...

. Representing Africa at the

1989 IAAF World Cup The 5th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 8–10, 1989, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain. ...

, he finished third in the 400 m for the bronze medal. Tiacoh died in 1992 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

caused by

miliary tuberculosis To disseminate (from lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional vie ...

at the age of 29. He remains the 400 m national record holder for Côte d'Ivoire. He had an annual

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

meeting named in his honour – the Gabriel Tiacoh meet in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

.Ramsak, Bob (2010-04-19)
World-leading 50.35 by Montsho in Abidjan

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-04-24.

Achievements

Trivia

*In the comedy sketch show Little Britain, Denver Mills (

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...

) claims to have the silver medal won by Tiacoh at the 1984 Summer Olympics, however this is not mentioned in the show. (The comedy arises from the fact that people do not appreciate his achievement as much as he would like.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiacoh, Gabriel 1963 births 1992 deaths Ivorian male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Deaths from meningitis Olympic athletes of Ivory Coast Olympic silver medalists for Ivory Coast Neurological disease deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Infectious disease deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Tuberculosis deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games medalists in athletics