Win or bust: Last chance saloon for Ta Lou to snag world championships Gold 

This is Deji Ogeyingbo’s feature on Marie Jose Ta-Lou, who has had a remarkable 2023 season. Deji asks the big question, how will she fare in Budapest? 

Win or bust: Last chance saloon for Ta Lou to snag world championships Gold. 

Over the years, the women’s 100m has witnessed a constant dominance between the Americans and Jamaicans. It’s no surprise as the world’s giant and tiny island nations have produced the very best since the turn of this century. While the sport is a genuine passion for the Jamaicans, the utter need for complete control makes the Americans feel they belong at the top. And the results don’t lie.

The aftermath of this has resulted in outsiders from other countries who have sparingly spoilt the party for these two sprinting giants during the calendar year or at major championships like the Olympics and World championships. In fact, since the inception of the world championships in 1983, only eight nationalities have gotten on the podium in the women’s 100m. 

One of such country is Côte d’Ivoire. The West African country boasts three podium finishes, with Murielle Ahoure taking Silver in Moscow in 2013, Marie-Josée Ta Lou snagging Silver in London in 2017, and Bronze in Doha in 2019. Ta Lou is where most of our attention lies as the Ivorian has been relentless in her pursuit of the ever-elusive Gold, and this year’s world championships in Budapest offer her the perfect opportunity to add it to her collection.

It might feel like an obsession, but she has worked hard. Ta Lou wasn’t the most precocious of an athlete in her early years, and her route to the top has been filled with many ups and downs with doses of near misses on the global stage. When she first burst onto the scene at the Rio Olympics, the Ivorian missed out on medals in the 100m and 200m by a hair’s breadth. 

Ta Lou didn’t relent and has since been in the mix, slugging it out with the Jamaicans and Americans when it matters most. But deep down, she will always crave more. Becoming a world champion is all that matters, and if there has been any year where the chance of that happening is high, then it’s 2023. At 34, our chances are getting…