As a boy, Trésor followed the career of champion runner Carl Lewis on television, and at age 14 he got into athletics himself. The only challenge was finding an organization where he could practice the sport he loved. In 2000 he joined a club in Villejuif, just south of Paris, and began running with a guide, winning a string of French national championships.

Since then, he has won numerous medals at World and European Championships, as well as at the Paralympic Games, including two bronze medals for the 100m and 4x100m relay at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics. Shortly before the London 2012 Paralympics, Trésor joined Avia Club Issy-les-Moulineaux, southwest of Paris. He went on to claim bronze in the 400m in London, followed by a second 400m bronze in Tokyo in 2020.  

Hampered by Achilles tendon pain at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, Trésor Makunda bounced back a year later. In September 2025, he claimed silver in the 400m T11 event at the World Championships in New Delhi—the only medal previously missing from his World Championship collection. And the Avia Club Issy-les-Moulineaux athlete has no intention of calling it a day. “I don’t set any limits for myself, and I’ve never been in better shape,” says the intrepid 40-year-old, who now aims to challenge and possibly break his 400m personal best of 51.22 seconds, set at the 2023 World Championships in Paris.