Third Behind Sha’Carri Richardson in World, Marie-Josée Ta Lou Has Track and Field Community Rallying Behind Her for Unfair Treatment: “They Forced It”

Sha’Carri Richardson, the reigning 100m world champion, is present at a summit that many are venturing towards. Especially, the current 100m third ranker, Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, who is closing in on her American competitor with each stride. Notably, her 2024 season best of 10.91 narrowly trails behind Richardson’s 10.83.

But while the 35-year-old Ta-Lou Smith remains a supersonic force on the track, she also appears to be grounded by a deeply principled core. This came to light at the ongoing African Athletics Championships. Speaking straight from the shoulder, the Ivorian athlete uncovered the alleged unfair treatment she and her team faced.

A hurt and disappointed Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith rebukes inequitable conduct

Extending the verve of the Olympic year, the African Athletics Championships 2024 are occurring in parallel with the US Olympic Track and Field Trials, only a continent away. However, the two seemed to have begun on totally contrasting notes. On 21st June, the very first day of the former meet in Cameroon, Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith took to her X account and added back-to-back tweets criticizing the organizers.

She began with, “There is so much thinks I wanted to say about the organization of the African championship !!!”. “I am hurt and disappointed!!!” further wrote a visibly upset Ta Lou-Smith. Correcting those who thought she was injured, the athlete clarified, “Speaking about my feeling not an injury!” But even before her explanation, the rest of her tweets made the issue clear.

Uncovering the sorry state of logistics at the event, Ta Lou-Smith conveyed, “My team have to take a yango ( taxi) to go to the stadium because the transportation sucks !!! However, the main point of conflict was highlighted next. She tweeted, “sis I am telling you. I want to cry because why? And on top of that, we on the taxi we see another African team with a police escorte. Like why not do it for everybody?” 

This preferential treatment at a competition where athletes rely on the organizing body for a fair contest did not settle well with Ta Lou-Smith. Putting forth her athletic standpoint, she added, “Coming here I had so much expectation !!! So much!!!“ She even chimed in a call to action. “If we want think to change , we need to do better !!! We have now some high level of athletes,” added the decorated athlete.

Keeping the unfairness allegations aside, this is not the first time the African Championships have drawn attention to their executive lapses. As per CNN, back in 2018, African athletes were stranded at the Lagos airport for over 48 hours. Besides the athlete’s resentment, the track and field fans were quick to react to the matter. Commenting below the tweet cited above, fans added in their remarks.

Lou-Smith’s allegations garner diverse reactions

Commenting below her tweet, one of the fans remarked that this hints at the organization’s lack of preparedness. “It’s screaming ‘they forced it on us and we are not ready to host’ 😮‍💨😮‍💨, added the fan. They further stated, “If Olympics wasn’t this year, I’m certain they would have cancelled it.”

Reacting to the allegations, a fan highlighted another shortcoming. They said, “We don’t even know what athletes are there 😭😭 No results page, no live stream.” However, others were glad that Ta Lou-Smith voiced her concerns. A fan added, “Finally someone is standing up and speaking for the rest of us!” 

But, another one suggested she lay low. They tweeted, “Sometimes you just need to say those things, but then again there is a time for everything.” Drawing a comparison, a commenter who seemed an ardent follower of the sport claimed, “These could be the worst African athletics championships ever…“

They further justified it saying “not even a single stream for us to watch, stadium also looks empty…which is a sad regression because the championships in Mauritius in 2022 were very well organized.” Above all, some found Ta Lou-Smith’s safety to be of paramount importance.

One of them added, “Just make sure you are safe and don’t risk injury so close to the Olympics.” While Ta Lou-Smith did not mention any physical suffrage to her or her teammates, she did appear upset by the one-sided treatment. What do you think will be the organizers’ reaction to the athlete’s allegations? Let us know below.