The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Benin

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This page contains a list of the greatest Beninese Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 4 of which were born in Benin. This makes Benin the birth place of the 137th most number of Athletes behind The Gambia, and Costa Rica.

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Beninese Athletes of all time. This list of famous Beninese Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Noélie Yarigo

1. Noélie Yarigo (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 37.52, Noélie Yarigo is the most famous Beninese Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages on wikipedia.

Noélie Ditchakou Yarigo (born 26 December 1985) is a middle-distance runner from Benin who competes primarily in the 800 metres. She represented her country at the 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. Yarigo holds five Beninese national records including at 800 m indoors and out.

Photo of Odile Ahouanwanou

2. Odile Ahouanwanou (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 32.17, Odile Ahouanwanou is the 2nd most famous Beninese Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 13 different languages.

Odile Ahouanwanou (born 5 January 1991) is a Beninese heptathlete, who also specialises in the 100 metres hurdles; she holds Beninese records in both events. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2015 African Games and two African Championships in Athletics, and won a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2015 African Games.

Photo of Didier Kiki

3. Didier Kiki (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 26.04, Didier Kiki is the 3rd most famous Beninese Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Didier Kiki (born 30 November 1995 in Porto-Novo) is a Beninese Olympic sprinter. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 200 metres race; his time of 22.27 seconds in the heats did not qualify him for the semifinals. He competed in the preliminary heats in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres in Tokyo, running a personal best of 10.69 seconds.

Photo of Celtus Dossou Yovo

4. Celtus Dossou Yovo (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 17.18, Celtus Dossou Yovo is the 4th most famous Beninese Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 5 different languages.

Celtus Dossou Yovo (born 1 April 1986 in Cotonou) is a Beninese judoka. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men's 90 kg, where he defeated Célio Dias in the second round but lost to Marcus Nyman in the third round. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the men's 90kg. He lost to Russia's Mikhail Igolnikov in the second round.

People

Pantheon has 4 people classified as Beninese athletes born between 1985 and 1995. Of these 4, 4 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Beninese athletes include Noélie Yarigo, Odile Ahouanwanou, and Didier Kiki. As of April 2024, 4 new Beninese athletes have been added to Pantheon including Noélie Yarigo, Odile Ahouanwanou, and Didier Kiki.

Living Beninese Athletes

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Newly Added Beninese Athletes (2024)

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