Boubacar Traore is a Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

n political activist, torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

 survivor and marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 runner. Born in the West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

n nation of Guinea, Traore studied law at Gamal Abdel Nasser University

Gamal Abdel Nasser University

Gamal Abdel Nasser University, also Institut Polytechnique de Conakry is a university in Conakry, Guinea. The university was established in 1962 with 13 schools and faculties, including medicine.It was established during a period of progressive economic development in the country after independence....

 in Conakry

Conakry

Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...

. During the 1993 presidential election

Guinean presidential election, 1993

Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 19 December 1993. They were the first since the country returned to multi-party politics in 1990, and the first to feature more than one candidate. The result was a victory for Lansana Conté of the Party of Unity and Progress, who won 51.7% of the vote....

, he was caught giving information to a political opposition group and detained. During his detention, he was beaten so severely that his mangled right leg developed gangrene

Gangrene

Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...

 and had to be amputated

Amputation

Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...

 at the hip.

In 2002, Traore left Guinea for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where he was granted political asylum

Asylum in the United States

The United States honors the right of asylum of individuals as specified by international and federal law. A specified number of legally defined refugees, who apply for asylum either overseas or after arriving in the U.S., are admitted annually. Refugees compose about one-tenth of the total...

. On June 15, 2003, he ran his first race, a 5-mile course, finishing in 76 minutes on crutches. He was subsequently given a prosthetic running leg. In June 2004, he was selected to be the relay runner to carry the Olympic Flame

Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...

 into the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 complex. By December 2006, Traore had run the New York City Marathon

New York City Marathon

The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...

 five times, as well as other races including the Los Angeles Marathon

Los Angeles Marathon

The Honda LA Marathon is an annual running event held each spring in Los Angeles, California. The 26.219 mile footrace, inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, has been contested every year since 1986...

. He thus gained a degree of celebrity in regional running circles. A volunteer who runs with Traore notes, "I don't know how many times I've heard spectators and other runners, including elite athletes at the front of the pack of the New York City marathon, shout to Boubacar, 'You're my hero.'" Traore is was studying to take the LSAT

Law School Admission Test

The Law School Admission Test is a half-day standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. Administered by the Law School Admission Council for prospective law school candidates, the LSAT is designed to assess Reading Comprehension,...

tests in 2006.