African 100m champion Ben Youssef Meite is among a crop of the world&rsquo;s leading sprinters. Here the 30-year-old Ivory Coast international talks about the significance of overcoming serious injury and two years in the wilderness on his journey to reaching the Olympic 100m final and fulfilling his long-time ambition to join the sub-10-second club.
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
&ldquo;At the 2012 Olympic Games in London I was in the best shape of my life (up to that point) and in my heat, I ran a national record 10.06 to place second. But then in the semi-final I broke my big left toe. I carried on to the finish because you should always finish a race, but I was eliminated in fifth in a time of 10.13. I was initially told by doctors I would need surgery but I was warned that I might not make a full recovery, so I decided against it. But when I returned to training, the toe continued to hurt.
&ldquo;I was living in Canada and I decided to take one year out from the sport in 2013 to help the injury heal. Then in April 2014, two months after my father, Amadou, (a two-time Olympian and 1978 All Africa Games 100m champion) died, I decided to go back to training once more in an effort to fulfil my dream of becoming a sub-ten-second 100m sprinter.
&ldquo;It was hard being away from athletics for so long because I love sport. Then in my first planned competition for two years ahead of the 2014 African Championships I contracted malaria, which was really hard for me because it meant for two years I couldn&rsquo;t run.
&ldquo;I then really found it hard in 2015. I had no sponsor and no agent. I rang 15 agents and asked if they would like to represent me, but all said no. Yet I was determined to continue in the sport and in the heats of the 100m at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, I took 0.01 from my PB to run 10.05, which was a big moment. Then the next month I set a national record of 10.04 into a -2.1m/s headwind to win 100m gold at the African Games, which gave me the confidence that 2016 would be a big year for me.
&ldquo;In June of last year in Prague I ran 9.99 and then I ran national records of 9.97 and 9.96 in the semi-final and final, respectively, at the Rio Olympics where I finished sixth. I was running against 22 and 24-year-olds who were probably wondering who this guy was at the age of 30?
&ldquo;I look back on breaking my toe as a big test which I overcame and something which has helped define me as an athlete.&rdquo;
Steve Landells for the IAAF

African 100m champion Ben Youssef Meite is among a crop of the world’s leading sprinters. Here the 30-year-old Ivory Coast international talks about the significance of overcoming serious injury and two years in the wilderness on his journey to reaching the Olympic 100m final and fulfilling his long-time ambition to join the sub-10-second club.

That moment when... Meite broke his toe at the 2012 Olympics 

Ivorian speedsters dominated the sprint finals, and East African athletes swept the podium in the women&rsquo;s 5000m, but South African athletes raked in 10 medals to open a gap at the top of the medals table at the African Championships in Durban on Thursday (23).
Two weeks after setting an African 100m record of 10.78, 2013 world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure had little trouble securing her first continental title over the distance.
Ahoure earned gold in 10.99, with compatriot Marie Josee Ta Lou, who won the sprint double at last year&rsquo;s African Games in Brazzaville, taking bronze in 11.15.
Local athlete Carina Horn grabbed silver in 11.07, just 0.01 outside the South African record she shares with Yvette de Klerk.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been African champion in the 100m, so it&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve always wanted to accomplish,&rdquo; said Ahoure, who won the African 200m title in 2014.
&ldquo;I wanted to come and support my team, and one of the things we&rsquo;re also trying to accomplish here is getting an Olympic qualifier time in the 4x100m relay, and that would be amazing, so that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
In the men&rsquo;s 100m final, Ahoure&rsquo;s compatriot Ben Youssef Meite scorched to victory in 9.95, regaining the title he won in 2010. Although his time was 0.04 quicker than the national record he set earlier this month, he had the benefit of a 2.4m/s tailwind.
Mosito Lehata of Lesotho earned silver in 10.04, while South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbine recovered from a poor start to snatch bronze in 10.05.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really good because I need to try to get into the final at the Olympics,&rdquo; said Meite. &ldquo;I need to go back to training, fix my start, and I think I'll be ready.&rdquo;
In the men's long jump, Commonwealth bronze medallist Ruswahl Samaai produced a leap of 8.40m to finish top of the podium. But, as was the case with Meite, the illegal following wind of 2.9m/s meant that it will not count as a personal best.
Compatriot Luvo Manyonga, the 2010 world junior champion who is making a comeback this season, secured the silver medal with a jump of 8.23m, albeit with a strong 4.2m/s wind.
&ldquo;I know if I can be consistent, the big jumps will come, like it did today,&rdquo; said Samaai. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to improve with every jump.&rdquo;
Local giant Victor Hogan, ranked fifth in the world this year after setting a personal best of 67.62m in Stellenbosch in April, struggled to find his best form in poor conditions, with the wind working against the athletes in the men&rsquo;s discus final.
He nonetheless did enough for the win with a 61.68m effort, which landed 22 centimetres ahead of compatriot Russell Tucker&rsquo;s best attempt. Nigeria&rsquo;s Stephen Mozia ended third (59.16m), adding to the bronze medal he had earned the day before in the shot put.
<h3>Chepkirui leads Kenyan 1-2</h3>
As expected, Kenya and Ethiopia took control of the women&rsquo;s 5000m final from the start and were never challenged.
Kenya&rsquo;s 2005 world youth 1500m champion Sheila Chepkirui and African Games champion Margaret Chelimo opened a gap in the closing stages to ensure a Kenyan one-two, with Chepkirui earning gold in 15:05.45 and Chelimo crossing the line in 15:07.56. Ethiopian champion Dera Dida was third in 15:15.26.
Managing to complete nine of 10 events in the decathlon, South African Willem Coertzen seemed to have overcome a recurring ankle injury, but he withdrew after the javelin. Although he didn&rsquo;t compete in the 1500m, his score of 7196 was enough for the bronze medal.
With his compatriot forced to watch the end of the two-day contest from the side of the track, Fredriech Pretorius pocketed the gold medal with a PB of 7780.
In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles final, South African Claudia Heunis took the win in 13.35, also setting a personal best.
On Wednesday, the opening day of the five-day championships, South African athletes won two of the three gold medals on offer.
Two-time Shanghai Marathon winner Stephen Mokoka, focusing on the track this year ahead of the Rio Olympics, handed the East African contingent a rare defeat in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m.
Mokoka hit the front at the bell and drove hard to the line to win in 28:02.97, edging out Kenya's Wilfred Kimitei by 0.21 in a tight sprint finish.
Jaco Engelbrecht produced a 20.00m heave to win the men&rsquo;s shot put, and African record-holder Amy Sene of Senegal won her third continental title in the hammer with a 68.35m effort.
Wesley Botton for the IAAF

Ivorian speedsters dominated the sprint finals, and East African athletes swept the podium in the women’s 5000m, but South African athletes raked in 10 medals to open a gap at the top of the medals table at the African Championships in Durban on Thursday (23).

Sprint double for Ivory Coast but hosts South Africa dominate at African Championships

For the first time ever, Ivory Coast won both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 100m titles at the All-African Games, with Ben Youssef Meite and Marie-Josee Ta Lou dominating their events in Brazzaville.The gold medal was particularly significant for Meite, and not only because he has returned to form this season after two years of illness and injury. His father Amadou &ndash; who passed away last year &ndash; had won this title in 1978 and was the last athlete from the Ivory Coast to win gold in the 100m at the All-African Games.Miete didn&rsquo;t get off to a great start in the final, but came through strong in the second half to win in a national record of 10.04. His time is all the more impressive, given it was run into a -2.1m/s headwind.Nigeria&rsquo;s Egwero Ogho-Ogene, who had equalled his PB of 10.06 in the semi-final, took silver in 10.17. Meite&rsquo;s compatriot Wilfried Koffi was third in 10.23.Meite&rsquo;s Ivorian team-mate Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who narrowly missed out on making the 100m and 200m finals at the recent IAAF World Championships in Beijing, emphatically won the women&rsquo;s 100m final.Streaking away over the final 50 metres, Ta Lou crossed the line in a PB of 11.02 to take 0.01 off the Games record set by Mercy Nku in 1999. Kenya&rsquo;s Eunice Kadogo was a distant second, albeit in a national record of 11.47.<h3>Third-time lucky for Makwala</h3>Botswana&rsquo;s African 400m champion Isaac Makwala was making his third appearance at the All-Africa Games. Having finished seventh in 2011 and missing out on the final in 2007, this time he came away with gold.The 28-year-old, who earlier this year clocked a national record of 43.72, won with ease in 44.35, just missing out on Innocent Egbunike&rsquo;s Games record of 44.23. Kenya&rsquo;s Boniface Mweresa was second in a PB of 45.01, while Makwala&rsquo;s team-mate Onkabetse Nkobolo was third in 45.50.&ldquo;It was not easy but I came here for the win,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This was my fifth individual medal at either the African Championships or the All-African Games and I wanted to win this one for myself.&rdquo;Zambia&rsquo;s Kabange Mupopo was similarly dominant in the women&rsquo;s race. The footballer-turned-sprinter moved up a gear at half way to pull away from the field and win in a national record of 50.22. Nigeria&rsquo;s Patience George was second in 50.71.<h3>Gold for Ethiopia over 10,000m and 1500m</h3>Tebalu Zawude kept the All-Africa Games 10,000m title on Ethiopian soil in an exciting race over 25 laps.Seven men &ndash; Ethiopia&rsquo;s Zewude, Adugna Takele and Mule Wasihun, Kenya&rsquo;s Leonard Barsoton, Vincent Yator and Geoffrey Kipkorir and Eritrea&rsquo;s Afewerki Berhane &ndash; began to pull away from the rest of the field after half way, which was reached in 13:43.42.Wasihun was the first of those to fade, leaving six mean in the lead pack. With five laps to go, just four men &ndash; Zewude, Takele, Barsoton and Yator &ndash; were left to battle for the three medals.Yator was finally broken with two laps to go with Zewude still forcing the pace out in front. African cross-country champion Barsoton overtook Takele at the start of the last lap and then moved into the lead on the back straight. But Zewude wasn&rsquo;t finished and crept back into contention on the home straight, drawing level with Barsoton with 60 metres to go and then pulling clear by a couple of strides, winning in 27:27.19. Barsoton &ndash; trying to become the first Kenyan winner of this title since 1995 &ndash; had to settle for silver in 27:27.55 with Takele taking bronze in 27:28.40.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mekonnen Gebremedhin made up for the disappointment of missing out on the World Championships final by taking gold in the 1500m.The 2012 world indoor bronze medallist began his sustained kick at the bell. With 200m to go, world junior record-holder Ronald Kwemoi looked set to challenge for the lead, but Gebremedhin kept his cool as the Kenyan faded.Gebremedhin crossed the line in 3:45.73 with Djibouti&rsquo;s Abdi Waiss Mouhyadin taking silver in 3:45.98. Kwemoi finished fourth behind Algeria&rsquo;s Salim Keddar.<h3>Kenya dominates steeplechase and 5000m</h3>The first title to be decided was the men&rsquo;s steeplechase, in which Clement Kemboi took the biggest win of his career. The Kenyan had finished in the top five at four IAAF Diamond League meetings this year, but in Brazzaville he was the undisputed winner.Youth Olympic champion Wogene Sebisibe hit the front with three laps to go, which broke up the pack. By the end of that lap, just five men were left in contention: Kemboi, Kenyan team-mate Hillary Kemboi, Sebisibe and fellow Ethiopians Hailemariam Amare and Chala Beyo.Kemboi hit the front with 700 metres to go and continued to pull away from the remaining challengers. He started celebrating even before the final water jump and went on to win in 8:20.31. Team-mate Hillary Kemboi and Amare overtook Sebisibe on the final lap to take silver and bronze respectively in 8:22.96 and 8:24.19.With Kenya taking gold and silver ahead of Ethiopia in the men&rsquo;s event, the fortunes were reversed in the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase.The opening pace was slow with the first kilometre covered in 3:34. Kenya&rsquo;s Magdalene Masai fell at the water jump just after half way, colliding with Algeria&rsquo;s Amina Bettiche, but both athletes soon got back into the race.Masai then darted into the lead with one kilometre to go. One lap later, Masai and Ethiopian duo Sofia Assefa and Hiwot Ayalew appeared to be away and clear. Ayalew led from Assefa going into the final lap and they began to pull away. Then Kenya&rsquo;s Purity Cherotich caught team-mate Masai on the final water jump to move into third.Assefa sprinted away to win in 9:51.30, 0.64 ahead of Ayalew. Cherotich took bronze in 9:52.54.The closest finish so far in a track event at the All-Africa Games has been in the women&rsquo;s 5000m. Margaret Chelimo led a Kenyan 1-2-3, winning from Rosemary Wanjiru by just three hundredths of a second in 15:30.15. Alice Aprot was third in 15:31.82.<h3>Games records for Alkana, Elemba and Bambara</h3>Aside from Ta Lou in the women&rsquo;s 100m, several other Games records have been broken already in Brazzaville.South Africa&rsquo;s Antonio Alkana smashed his PB to win the 110m hurdles in a Games record of 13.32, while the Democratic Republic of Congo&rsquo;s Franck Elemba won the host nation&rsquo;s first athletics gold medal of the event by throwing a Games record of 20.25m in the shot put.Games records were also set by Burkina Faso&rsquo;s Leititia Bambara in the hammer, 66.91m, Tunisia&rsquo;s Syrine Balti in the pole vault, 4.10m, and Kenya&rsquo;s Grace Wanjiru in the women&rsquo;s 20km race walk, 1:38:28.Elsewhere, Tosin Oke won a close triple jump contest, beating team-mate Olumide Olamigoke by two centimetres with 17.00m, while 2009 world champion Caster Semenya comfortably won the women&rsquo;s 800m in 2:00.97.Nigerian 18-year-old Oluwatobiloba Amusan impressed in the 100m hurdles, winning in 13.15, having clocked an African junior record of 13.11 in the heats. She will still be a junior next year.After three days of action, the athletics at the All-Africa Games continues on Wednesday and Thursday (16-17).Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

For the first time ever, Ivory Coast won both the men’s and women’s 100m titles at the All-African Games, with Ben Youssef Meite and Marie-Josee Ta Lou dominating their events in Brazzaville.