Benjamin Boukpeti

Benjamin Boukpeti
	Benjamin Boukpeti in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Benjamin Kudjow Thomas Boukpeti
Nickname	Bouk
Nationality	Togo, France
Born	August 4, 1981 (age 42); Lagny-sur-Marne, France
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
Country	Togo
Sport	Canoe slalom
Event	K1
Coached by	Jean-Jérôme Perrin
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	2004 K1, 15th; 2008 K1, Bronze; 2012 K1, 10th;
Medal record
Men's canoe slalom
Representing Togo
Olympic Games

Last updated December 13, 2023

Benjamin Kudjow Thomas Boukpeti (born August 4, 1981 in Lagny-sur-Marne, France) is a French-born Togolese slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 2003 to 2012.^[1] Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won a bronze in the K1 event in Beijing in 2008.^[2] Boukpeti was the first athlete from Togo to win an Olympic medal.^[3]

Early life

Born in Lagny-sur-Marne, France to a French mother, he holds dual Togolese-French citizenship and chose to represent Togo, the country of his father, in Olympic competition. He began kayaking at age 10.^[4] His elder brother Olivier is a member of the French flatwater canoeing team.^[5]

Canoeing career

Competing in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, he placed fifteenth in the first heat of the Men's K1 event to become the first Togolese to reach an Olympic semifinal, but only ranked eighteenth in the semifinal run and did not advance to the final.

In January 2008, Boukpeti placed first at the African Championships.^[5]

In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, Boukpeti led after the semifinal, eventually claiming the Bronze medal in the K1 event, the first ever Olympic medal for Togo.^[6]^[7] After clinching his medal Boukpeti snapped his paddle over his kayak in celebration.

Following his Olympic success, Togolese Olympics fans expressed an interest in meeting him, as he was mostly unknown in Togo, only having visited that nation once, during his childhood.^[8]

Boukpeti failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London after he was beaten by Jonathan Akinyemi at the African Championships.^[9] However, Boukpeti received a wild card and was able to enter the event. Once again he managed to qualify for the final run of the K1 event where he finished in 10th place.

He recently completed management studies in Toulouse, France, where he lives.^[5]

World Cup individual podiums

Season	Date	Venue	Position	Event
2008	27 Jan 2008	Sagana	1st	K1¹

¹ African Championship counting for World Cup points

Commitment

Boukpeti is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of more than 90 famous elite created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II. This group of top level champions, wish to make sport a tool for dialogue and social cohesion. http://www.peace-sport.org/our-champions-of-peace/

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canoe slalom</span> Competitive sport

Canoe slalom is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Canoe/Kayak Slalom. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. Wildwater canoeing is a non-Olympic paddlesport.

Togo competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. The country's participation at Athens marked its seventh appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, West Germany. The delegation included two track and field athletes and a single canoeist; Jan Sekpona in the men's 800 metres, Sandrine Thiébaud-Kangni in the women's 400 metres, and Benjamin Boukpeti in the men's K-1. Both Sekpona and Thiébaud-Kangni were eliminated in the first round of their competitions, while Boukpeti progressed to the semi-finals.

Lagny-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France 26.1 km (16.2 mi) from the centre of Paris.

Togo has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games held since 1972 except for 1976 and 1980, which they boycotted, winning their first Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics when Benjamin Boukpeti won bronze in the K1 kayak slalom event.

Togo competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. At the men's slalom K-1 event, Benjamin Boukpeti won a bronze medal in canoeing, the first Olympic medal for the country.

Vavřinec Hradilek is a Czech slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2003.

Daniele Cristoforo Molmenti is an Italian slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2016.

Alexander Grimm is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002.

Fabien Lefèvre is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1998. As a permanent resident of the United States, he has competed for his country of residence since 2013. He represented France until 2011. He won two medals at the Summer Olympics in the K1 event with a silver in 2008 and a bronze in 2004. He has a son called Noe Lefèvre.

Émilie Fer is a French slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 2000 to 2016.

Luuka Jones is a New Zealand slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006.

Jessica Esther "Jess" Fox is a French-born Australian Program and Policy Officer and world and Olympic champion slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2008.

Togo competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, held from July 27 to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Olympics, except the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and the United States boycott.

Étienne Daille is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2007.

Jan Sekpona is a retired Togolese middle-distance runner, who specialized in the 800 metres. Sekpona qualified for the Togolese squad in the men's 800 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens by attaining an entry time and a personal best of 1:52.40. Running against seven other athletes in heat three, Sekpona crossed the finish line by nearly ten minutes behind leader Wilson Kipketer of Denmark with an eighth-place time in 1:54.25. Sekpona failed to advance into the semifinals as he placed farther from two automatic slots for the next round and ranked no. 70 overall in the prelims. Sekpona was also appointed as the Togolese flag bearer by the National Olympic Committee in the opening ceremony.

Togo competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.

Mònica Dòria Vilarrubla is an Andorran slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2014. Mònica was the flagbearer for Andorra at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She finished 16th in the K1 event and 11th in the C1 event after being eliminated in the semifinals of both.

Martin Dougoud is a Swiss slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2008. He is from Geneva, Switzerland but lives and trains in Pau, France. Martin competes in the K1 and kayak cross disciplines.

Mathis Soudi is a Moroccan slalom canoeist who has competed at international level since 2016. He is from Rennes, France and competes in the K1 discipline for Morocco.

Romane Prigent is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2016. She is from Pau in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of France and competes for Pau Canoe-kayak Club Universitaire.

References

↑ "Profile and results". CanoeSlalom.net. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
↑ "Profile and results". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
↑ "Togo claims first Olympic medal". 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
↑ Benjamin, lui, vit à Toulouse, où il vient de terminer des études de management. A l'âge de 10 ans, il plonge dans un kayak, pagaie dans les trois disciplines, le slalom, la ligne et la descente non-olympique. Cinq ans après, il opte pour le slalom, "un jeu qui demande de l'habileté. A côté, le canoë en ligne était rébarbatif, peu ludique". Barré par la densité de kayakistes en France, il choisit alors de naviguer pour le Togo même s'il reste proche des Bleus. D'ailleurs, lors des récentes sélections olympiques qui ont désigné le sélectionné tricolore, Boukpeti avait terminé cinquième.
1 2 3 La Tribune (France): Benjamin Boukpeti, héros togolais, avec le bronze en kayak
↑ Togo paddler tops Men's Slalom K1 semi Archived 2008-08-15 at the Wayback Machine . Beijing 2008. 2008-08-12
↑ Olympic Medal: M K1 Slalom. UPI.com. 2008-08-12
↑ "WordPress › Error". Archived from the original on 2014-04-25. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
↑ "Johnathan Akinyemi claims Africa's Men's K1 spot at London 2012". ICF. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.

"Boukpeti: Togo's hero in Olympics", Xinhua, August 12, 2008

Olympic Games
Preceded by Jan Sekpona	Flagbearer for Togo Beijing 2008 London 2012	Succeeded by Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean

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[1] "Profile and results". CanoeSlalom.net. Retrieved 12 November 2017.

[2] "Profile and results". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2017.

[3] "Togo claims first Olympic medal". 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2019-09-08.

[4] Benjamin, lui, vit à Toulouse, où il vient de terminer des études de management. A l'âge de 10 ans, il plonge dans un kayak, pagaie dans les trois disciplines, le slalom, la ligne et la descente non-olympique. Cinq ans après, il opte pour le slalom, "un jeu qui demande de l'habileté. A côté, le canoë en ligne était rébarbatif, peu ludique". Barré par la densité de kayakistes en France, il choisit alors de naviguer pour le Togo même s'il reste proche des Bleus. D'ailleurs, lors des récentes sélections olympiques qui ont désigné le sélectionné tricolore, Boukpeti avait terminé cinquième.

[latribune.fr-5] 1 2 3 La Tribune (France): Benjamin Boukpeti, héros togolais, avec le bronze en kayak

[6] Togo paddler tops Men's Slalom K1 semi Archived 2008-08-15 at the Wayback Machine . Beijing 2008. 2008-08-12

[7] Olympic Medal: M K1 Slalom. UPI.com. 2008-08-12

[8] "WordPress › Error". Archived from the original on 2014-04-25. Retrieved 20 August 2016.

[9] "Johnathan Akinyemi claims Africa's Men's K1 spot at London 2012". ICF. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.

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