Africa's Fastest Woman Opens Up on Her Biggest Fear Ahead of World Championships

Africa’s fastest woman, Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith, has opened up about the part she fears the most about being an athlete as she chases more success.

Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith has been one of the most consistent female sprinters, but has recently been forced to slow down due to injury scares.

The two-time world silver medallist has already started her 2025 season, but she is treading carefully to avoid any struggles.

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She started her season at the PURE Athletics Global Invitational before proceeding to the Diamond League Meeting in Rome, before making a mark in Oslo.

Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith then competed at the Diamond League Meeting in Stockholm, finishing third before heading to the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike, where she rose to second place.

The Ivorian sprinter then rounded up the podium at the Prefontaine Classic before winning the Grand Prix Brescia and later reigning supreme at the Gyulai István Memorial, a Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix. She is fresh from a third-place finish at the Diamond League Meeting in Chorzow.

Speaking after rounding up the podium in Chorzow, Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith admitted that she has been working around the clock to avoid injuries, noting that in every final she makes, she gets injured or something unfortunate happens.

Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith emphasised that delay was not the end. She explained that if something was delayed, it was because something bigger was coming into the picture.

“I think I passed the test, and I'm happy because I overcame that one, and I hope to overcome all my fears. Now you know, with all the time that I have been off the podium, knowing that I was in good shape and always will end with injury or something will happen in the final, going to any race, now I have a fear,” Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith said on the Inside Lane.

“I'm trying to let that fear go and enjoy every race and trust God. This is the most important because I'm a true believer, everyone knows that, so I just let God guide me in every way, and if it is not the result that I accept, I'm just not worried.”

She went down memory lane to the 2017 World Championships in London, where she claimed silver medals in the 100m and 200m.

“And I'm not worried at all because I know in 2017 when I went to that world championship, people were like I was not in the picture,” she added.

“I was either saying that I was going to finish sixth or fifth, or fourth, and I proved them wrong. So, I believe in myself. I know I'm talented, and I know God is not done with me yet. This is why at 36 I'm still there.”

As she prepares for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September, Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith wants to let go of her fear and make a mark on the global stage, one more time.