Elie Bacari

Elie Bacari (born 14 October 2003) is a Belgian hurdler.^[2] He was born in Ivory Coast and moved with his family to Belgium at the age of 6.^[1]

Elie Bacari

Personal information
Nationality	Belgian
Born	(2003-10-14) 14 October 2003 (age 21) Treichville, Côte d'Ivoire
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Hurdles
Coached by	Arne Broeders and Bart Bennema[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	60m hurdles: 7.58 (Glasgow, 2024) 110m hurdles: 13.38 (Turku, 2024)

Career

Bacari started out as footballer but switched to athletics after having seen his sister perform in it.^[3] He first tried his hand at the decathlon. In this discipline, he posted a PB of 7080 points in 2022, qualifying for the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Columbia.^[4] In those Championships, he ended in 20th position, not having finished the final 1500m due to injury.^[5] After the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland, where he participated only in the 110 metres hurdles and just missed out on the finals, Bacari decide to drop the decathlon and to focus from then on exclusively on the high hurdles.^[6]

Bacari lowered his 60m hurdles personal best a number of times in January 2024, and ran 7.62 seconds in Luxembourg to place fourth all-time for a Belgian athlete.^[7] He won a silver medal in the Belgian National Indoor Championships in February 2024.^[8] He competed in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, running a personal best 7.58 seconds in the semi final.^[9]

He reached the final of the 110m hurdles at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.^[10] He ran a personal best 13.38 seconds for the 110m hurdles in Turku in June 2024.^[11] That month, he finished as runner-up at the Belgian Athletics Championships.^[12] He qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France via the World Athletics Rankings. He was eliminated in the repechages.^[13]

References

1. "NU OP DE SPELEN. Kan atletieksensatie van het jaar Elie Bacari bevestigen op de Spelen? "Niemand uit Holsbeek weet dat ik op dit niveau loop"" (in Dutch). het Nieuwsblad. 2024-08-02. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
2. "Elie Bacari". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
3. "Supporteren maar! Deze Oost-Brabantse olympiërs strijden om een medaille in Parijs" (in Dutch). 25 July 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
4. "KVV MEERKAMPEN: BACARI EN VANHOEIJEN MAKEN WK AMBITIES WAAR". www.atletiek.be (in Dutch). 30 May 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
5. "DAG 2 WKU20: FINALE VOOR PIERRE STRAET". www.atletiek.be (in Dutch). 3 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
6. "Elie Bacari kiest definitief voor horden en gaat meteen hard bij seizoensopener: "Ik kan zeker nog sneller"". www.atni.be (in Dutch). 15 January 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
7. Reyntjens, Michiel (21 January 2024). "Elie Bacari stormt naar WK Glasgow met dik PR". atni.be. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
8. "Elie Bacari qualifies for the 20-year-old World". Le Soir. February 27, 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
9. "Indoor World Championships in Glasgow: Elie Bacari eliminated in semi-finals, Obasuyi 1/100th of his national record". dhnet.be. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
10. "Mistakes cost Michael Obasuyi and Elie Bacari in the European Championship final of the 110mH". Het Laatste Nieuws. June 9, 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
11. "Omar McLeod and Shanieka Ricketts win at Paavo Nurmi Games". Jamaica Loop News. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
12. "National championships roundup - Fast times highlight the British and French Championships". European Athletics. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
13. "JO 2024 - Bacari éliminé en repêchages: "J'ai vu les autres loin devant et j'ai su que c'était fini"". La Dernière Heure. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.