An athlete like Marie-Josee Ta Lou rejoicing in her accomplishments and receiving the recognition she deserves is always a heartwarming sight for anyone. And news outlets are always quick to feature her victories on websites and social media.
What they don’t show, however, are her moments of defeat and the other athletes who don’t make it to the podium, the way their heads hang in despair, their eyes fixated on the ground as they search for answers as to why they didn’t win, or their attempts to restrain themselves from breaking down in public.
The life of an athlete is not always easy, as Marie-Josee Ta Lou has discovered over the years. In an exclusive BBC Sports tell-all interview, Ivorian sprinter Ta Lou talked about her journey, her resilience, and how Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce helped her in dark times.
Ta Lou’s Ups and Downs
For a sprinter, Ta Lou is considered a successful athlete among her peers. She’s had impressive records and wins over the years. In 2015 and 2018 African Championships, she clinched first place in both the 100 meter and 200 meter events, the disciplines she specializes in. She also got a silver medal for her 22.08-second performance in the 2017 World Championships.
Her personal best in 100 meters is 10.72 seconds, which is just 0.23 seconds off the world’s fastest time. She achieved this record at the Monaco Diamond League last year.
This year, she continued her winning streak in the Florence, Oslo, Lausanne, and London legs of the meeting.
However, in August, Ta Lou was met with a fourth place finish at the World Championships in Budapest and missed the podium.
“I wanted to get a medal but finished fourth. I have been in a situation where I have been crying alone in my room,” Ta Lou said.
“I was so crushed and even considered ending my season in Budapest. But my strong faith in God is what strengthened me to show up for a double shot at the Diamond League finals in Eugene.”, she added.
Ta Lou is no stranger to failure; she’s missed the podium numerous times in her career, her most notable being the fourth and fifth place finishes in the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The World Championships, however, proved to be particularly challenging for her to bounce back from, as she stated that she was fully prepared in terms of mental, physical, and emotional readiness.
Ta Lou on Fraser-Pryce: She never gets exhausted of motivating me
Despite having the urge to throw in the towel, Ta Lou has, fortunately, a good support system around her. In her interview, she mentioned Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce specifically, and of how she won’t let her give up running.
“Her words are loud in my head every single day and she never gets exhausted of motivating me to wake every morning and do what I like.”. Ta Lou said.
“Shelly-Ann is one of the many reasons you will see me in Paris for what could be my last Olympic Games,” she added.
Following the public revelation of Ta Lou’s personal struggles and her remarkable resilience throughout the years, her fans are now eagerly anticipating her participation in the Paris Olympics next year and are hoping, like Fraser-Pryce, that she will not retire from the sport.
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