Africa’s fastest woman reveals what has been troubling her in recent weeks

Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith

Africa’s fastest woman reveals what has been troubling her in recent weeks

Joel Omotto 10:40 - 31.05.2024

Africa’s fastest woman Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith has explained what has been hampering her performances recently.

Africa’s fastest woman Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith has revealed that she has had to deal with a leg injury in the last two weeks which has made her preparations difficult.

Ta Lou-Smith clocked a season’s best 22.36 to finish second at the Oslo Diamond League in Norway on Thursday, in what was her first 200m of the season, coming behind Britain’s Brittany Brown, who managed 22.32 for first place.

The Ivorian sprinter explained her delight at her performance but admitted she had to take a cautious approach due to the leg problem.

“My leg has been giving me trouble these last two weeks so I am happy to be racing. This is my first 200 and I need to get ready for the Olympic trials. It is only May so we have to manage ourselves. I will wait and see what my coach says about any more racing before the trials,” she said after the race.

It was an encouraging outing for Ta Lou-Smith who finished sixth in 100m at the Prefontaine Classic, the Eugene Diamond League, last week after managing 11.05.

That was slower that her time of 10.91 achieved over the distance at the Jamaican Invitational on May 11 which is attributed to the leg problem.

Ta Lou-Smith will be flying her country’s flag at the Olympics yet again as she looks to clinch a first medal at the Games after two previous failed attempts.

She managed fourth place in both 100m and 200m at the Rio 2016 Olympics before fourth in 100m and fifth in 200m at the Tokyo Games and at 35, the Paris Olympics offers her the best possible chance to win a medal.

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