by Deji Ogeyingbo
Deji Ogeyingbo sent me a Messenger note a couple of hours ago that he wrote a piece on Marie-Josee TaLou, I was very happy. Marie-Josee is one of the most popular athletes on the circuit, and she is a lovely interview. Her new African record, her longevity, and her pride in representing her country (Cote’d’Ivoire) and her continent, Africa, and her social media presence make her a global star.
Marie-Josee Ta Lou’s perseverance in a difficult season gets rewarded with an African Record.
When Ivory Coast’s Marie Josee Ta Lou crossed the line in seventh in the final of the women’s 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, there was a tinge of disappointment from hard-core followers of the sports, especially from the African continent.
This was a sprinter that had ruffled feathers with some of the finest sprinters in the world about 12 months ago when she narrowly missed out on a podium place at the Tokyo Olympics. Ta Lou also ensured the continent always had a representative in the final of the blue riband event at major championships when every other sprinter fell down the wayside. Heck, she had won two Silver over the 100m/200m at the World Championships.
Ta Lou took the feat as immense progress. It had been a difficult season leading up to that women’s final that witnessed some of the all-time greats line up at Hayward field. Still, the Ivorian was counting her blessings.
“Since April, I have been struggling with inflammation in my shoulder, so coming here and making a final for me is progress. I ran a season’s best and clocked sub-11 three times, the first time it’s happening since last year.” Ta Lou wrote on Instagram after the world championships.
Top-level sprinting can be fierce. There is very little margin for error. And in an event like the 100m, where a sprinter has to be in pristine shape, it was always going to take a miracle for Ta Lou to get on the podium in Oregon. Not when Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was in 10.6 form or Shericka Jackson, who had won the double at the Jamaican trials prior to the championships.
There was the fastest woman alive, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and the emerging US talents of Aleia Hobbs, Melissa Jefferson, and Twanisha Terry. It was always going to be a daunting task. So, when Ta Lou finished third and broke the African Record, she co-owned with country-woman Murielle Ahoure at the Monaco Diamond League, clocking a new time of 10.72, there was a feeling of reward for her hard work and perseverance.
“I knew I was going to do good because I was feeling well, but you never know 100%,” Ta Lou said as quoted by France 24. “I knew I was not too far from Shelly-Ann, so I knew I was doing very well.”
Her 10.72s would have made her win any major championship except in 1988, 1999, 2013, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Ta Lou has a lot to be proud of. The time was enough for her to pick silver at the Tokyo Olympics. In an era that pitched her against the sprinting prowess of the Jamaicans, the diminutive sprinter has always found a way of carving her own victories.
The last time Ta Lou beat Fraser-Pryce was in May 2021 at the Muller Grand Prix in Gateshead. Eight races afterward, the two-time African Champion played second fiddle to the Jamaican, losing out in every single one. It wasn’t just the manner of the defeat that hurt; it was the time-increasing time difference.
At the Olympics final, Ta Lou finished fourth with 10.91 to Fraser -Pryce’s 10.74. 0.17s was the difference. She was closing the gap. In fact, she had equaled the African Record of 10.78s during her first-round race in Tokyo. So, she wasn’t far off at that moment. The task ahead was to keep closing the gap. She was up against sprinters who were running comfortably in 10.6s and 10.5s. Obviously, it entailed she was going to lower the African Record furthermore.
Then the shoulder injury hindered the progress. Ta Lou opened her season with an 11.07s clocking at the Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles. Modest, you’d think. However, Fraser-Pryce ran 10.67s in Nairobi while Thompson-Herah ran 10.89 at the USATF Golden Games in Walnut.
Three more races hovering around 11s, Ta Lou knew getting on the podium in Oregon was going to be a tall order. Still, she pursued progress rather than perfection. And there was progress. She ran 10.87s in the semis in Oregon. It was her fastest time since the 100m semis in Tokyo.
Context matters a lot in a sport like athletics. And the backdrop of how a minor setback affected Ta Lou’s progress in catching up with some of the best sprinters gives a better perspective into what her latest achievement means. 10.72s is a massive step. It builds her confidence going into the rest of the season.
On the African continent, her achievement now surpasses every other sprinter in the modern era. Her laurels speak volumes. To add to her two Silvers at the world championships, Ta Lou also has, from 2019, reached four Olympic finals and won an indoor silver medal over the 200m.
Ta Lou will cherish this moment. The progress excites her. Next, her target will be to go into the Sub-10.7s zones. Judging by the sear force of her tenacity, you surely can’t write her off.
