 Christine Arron at the2007 World Championships in Athletics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | French |
| Born | (1973-09-13)13 September 1973 (age 52) Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, France |
| Height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | sprinting |
Event(s) | 60 metres,100 metres,200 metres and the4 × 100 metres relay |
Medal record | |
Christine Arron (born 13 September 1973) is a French formertrack and fieldsprinter, who competed internationally for France in the60 metres,100 metres,200 metres and the4 × 100 metres relay. She is one of thefastest female 100 metres sprinters of all time with a time of 10.73 seconds set in 1998. At the time it made her the world's second-fastest female 100 metres sprinter of all time, and which as of October 2025 is still theEuropean record. She set the record when winning at the1998 European Championships, where she also won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. Also in the relay, she is a2003 World Championship gold medallist and a2004 Olympic bronze medallist.[2]
Born inLes Abymes,Guadeloupe, Arron arrived inMetropolitan France in 1990 and first trained with Fernand Urtebise, who also coached the former 400 metres hurdles and 4 × 400 metres relay world championStephane Diagana.
On 19 Aug 1998, Arron won the100 metres gold medal at the1998 European Championships inBudapest by finishing the final in a new European record time of 10.73 seconds. Her time of 10.73 seconds made her then the world's second-fastest ever, female 100 metres sprinter, behindFlorence Griffith-Joyner (10.49 seconds, set in 1988). She also won the4 × 100 metres relay gold medal at the same championships. She was named the 1998European Women's Athlete of the Year.
In 2001, after a heavy training period in the US withJohn Smith and theHSI group, Arron quit training for a year, saying she was physically exhausted from the experience. "It was hell. Every morning I wondered how I was going to put up with the burden of training." She had a hip injury which kept her out of the2001 World Championships.
Arron was also the anchor runner of theFrench 4 × 100 relay team which upset the heavy favourites the US to win the gold medal at the2003 World Championships in Paris. She recovered from 3 m behind the newly crowned, 100 m 2003 World Champion,Torri Edwards, to give the home crowd at theStade de France an unexpected joy.
Arron won her only Olympic medal, a bronze medal, in the4 × 100 m relay at the2004 Olympic Games inAthens, Greece.
In August 2005, Arron won a bronze medal in the100 metres and200 metres at the2005 World Championships.
At the2008 Olympic Games inBeijing, Arron competed in the100 metres event. In her first round heat, she placed first in front ofLauryn Williams andTahesia Harrigan in a time of 11.37 sec to advance to the second round. But in the second round, she failed to advance to the semi-finals as her time of 11.36 sec was only the fourth fastest time of her heat, behindDebbie Ferguson,Oludamola Osayomi andVida Anim, causing her elimination from the event.[citation needed]
As of March 2025, Arron is the world's tenth-fastest female 100 metres sprinter (10.73 sec) of all time.[3] Considering the controversy surrounding the performances of the world record-holder (10.49 sec, set in 1988),Florence Griffith-Joyner, many considered Arron's time of 10.73 sec. set during the1998 European Championships to be the 'true' world record. Besides Griffith-Joyner, onlyMarion Jones,Carmelita Jeter,Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce,Elaine Thompson-Herah,Shericka Jackson,Marie-Josée Ta Lou,Julien Alfred, andSha'Carri Richardson have run faster than Arron in the 100 metres.[3]
In December 2012, Arron announced her retirement fromathletics. She was expecting her second child then. She did not rule out the possibility of returning to athletics competition after the birth of her second child.[4]
On 9 October 2013, Arron was awarded theChevalier de la Légion d'honneur by French PresidentFrançois Hollande in theÉlysée Palace.[5]
Arron has voiced her annoyance withMarion Jones, her fiercest rival during her career: "She has lied for years [...] She treated everyone as idiots. I'm not shocked she is going to jail. Many people criticised me because I was always the one who lost in the Jones-Arron battle, even if I had very good results. We started running together in 1997. She has stolen my best years. Everything could have been different for me."[6]
In 2002, Arron gave birth to her first child, a son by the name of Ethan. On 16 May 2013, Arron gave birth to her second child, a daughter by the name of Cassandre. Cassandre's fatherBenjamin Compaoré, a French triple jumper, became Arron's companion in 2009.[7] -
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Guadeloupe | |||||
| 1988 | 1988 CARIFTA Games (youth) | Kingston, Jamaica | 3rd | 100 m | 12.04 |
| 1992 | 1992 CARIFTA Games (junior) | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 100 m | 11.31w |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m | 45.79 | |||
| Representing France | |||||
| 1992 | World Junior Championships | Seoul,South Korea | 12th (sf) | 100 m | 11.85(wind: +1.2 m/s) |
| 5th | 4 × 100 m relay | 44.70 | |||
| 1997 | Mediterranean Games | Bari, Italy | 1st | 200 m | 22.62 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m | 42.63 | |||
| World Championships | Athens, Greece | 4th | 100 m | 11.05 | |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m | 42.21 | |||
| 1998 | European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 100 m | 10.73 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m | 42.59 | |||
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 6th | 100 m | 10.97 |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m | 42.06 | |||
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | semi-final | 100 m | 11.42 (11.26) |
| 4th | 4 × 100 m | 42.42 | |||
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 4th | 100 m | 11.06 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m | 41.78 | |||
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | semi-final | 100 m | 11.21 (11.10) |
| semi-final | 200 m | 23.05 | |||
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m | 42.54 | |||
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | 100 m | 10.98 |
| 3rd | 200 m | 22.31 | |||
| 4th | 4 × 100 m | 42.85 | |||
| 2006 | World Indoor Championships | Moscow, Russia | 4th | 60 m | 7.13 (7.11) |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | quarter-final | 100 m | 11.36 |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 8th | 100 m | 11.37 (11.24) |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m | 42.45 | |||
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | heats | 100 m | 11.55 |
| 5th | 4 × 100 m | 43.44 | |||
Note: Results in brackets indicate a superior time achieved in an earlier round.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's 100 m European Record Holder 19 August 1998 – | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Women's European Athlete of the Year 1998 | Succeeded by |
European Athletics Championships champions in women's100 metres | |
|---|---|
|
|
