Ta Lou: Winning My First 100m Title Healed My Pains

Cote d’ Ivoire’s Marie Josee Ta Lou has hinted that winning the African Athletics Championships women 100m for the first time has helped healed the bitterness she felt, when she arrived Lagos and was welcomed with loads of stress.

Ta Lou posted a modest 11.15 seconds in a race where her topmost rivals Murielle Ahoure and Blessing Okagbare were absent, but the world leading woman in the 100m this season, said she was so delighted and she is looking forward to a sprint double as the 200m heats begin today.

“This win is for Cote d’ Ivoire, though it was difficult but I did it,” Ta Lou said “There were a lot of twists. I spent a whole day waiting to get to Asaba, and I wanted badly to return home. “ I who usually have a smile on my face I was reduced to tears and I arrived Asaba mentally and physically exhausted.

But we have to do it for the homeland and I am proud to have won my first African 100m title. Finally, I am 100m champion of Africa. “For me it is not just African championships, it meant a lot to me. It is the competition of our continent and I am proud to compete for Cote d’ Ivoire.”

August 04, 2018