World's fastest woman Josee to grace SOYA fete

Africa's fastest sprinter Marie-Josee Ta Lou from Cote de Voire with Mombasa County Executive for Sports Kyalo Munywoki (left) soon after she arrived at the Moi International Airport ahead of the SOYA awards tomorrow evening [Courtesy]

Cote d’ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, currently the world’s top-ranked female sprinter, is in Mombasa where she will be chief guest in tomorrow’s Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year (Soya) gala.

Ta Lou, 30, arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi at 5.15am and connected to Mombasa where she arrived at 11 am, happy to be in Kenya for the first time since 2010 when she competed in her first major international competition, the 17th African Athletics Championships held at Nyayo Stadium.

The sprinter ran four of the 10 fastest times in the world last year [Courtesy]

The sprinter, who ran four of the 10 fastest times in the world last year, said she was happy to be in Kenya and to help promote African athletics which she treasures.

“I’m happy to be in Kenya for the second time now, although it my first time to be in Mombasa where I look forward to enjoying the beaches among other recreational facilities. It’s a good opportunity to see more of the country as I did not have the opportunity in 2010,” she said at Moi International Airport in Mombasa where she was received by Mombasa County sports executive Kyalo Munywoki and chief sports officer Rajab Babu.

Ta Lou will be chief guest in tomorrow’s Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year (Soya) gala [Courtesy]

Ta Lou said she hopes to start her training in Mombasa ahead of the indoor season where she will compete in the 60-metre dash before going outdoors in a calendar that will climax in the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in September and October.

Doha holds a special place in Ta Lou’s heart as it’s in the Qatari capital where she ran her 100 metres personal best last year, clocking 10.84 seconds at the Doha Diamond League meeting on May 4.

She then ran 10.88 in Eugene on May 26 and 10.89 in Monaco on July 20 before clocking another sub-11 seconds with a 10.90 at the Lausanne leg of the IAAF Diamond League series.

“It’s not really a holiday for me here as I will also start doing some training as I prepare for the indoor season,” she said, adding that she has a strict programme drafted by her respected coach, Anthony Koffi.