Sanou won a bronze medal at the 2002 African Championships in Radès, and a silver medal two years later in Brazzaville. Participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he achieved fourth place in his 100 metres heat, thus qualifying on due to time to the second round where he lost the race. He finished seventh at the 2006 African Championships and fourth at the 2008 African Championships. Sanou represented Burkina Faso at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed 6th in his heat without advancing to the second round. He ran the distance in a time of 10.63 seconds.