Africa’s fastest woman Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith has a tough task ahead as she looks to secure her first Diamond League win in Zurich on Thursday.
Ta Lou-Smith has endured a tough season as she finished eighth in 100m at the Paris Olympics after suffering an injury during the final which locked her out of the 200m race.
The Ivorian sprinter then saw her Ivory Coast team disqualified after the 4x100m relay, to end her Olympics campaign on a sour note.
On the Diamond League circuit, Ta Lou-Smith has also had tough outings as despite featuring in five meetings, she is yet to register a win.
The 35-year-old is among sprinters with more Diamond League appearances this season but victory has proved elusive, having managed second places in Stockholm and Silesia, fourth in Lausanne, fifth in Monaco and sixth in Eugene.
Of those meetings, the races in Stockholm and Silesia did not have the big hitters, adding to her disappointment but she will have to do it the hard way in Zurich.
This is because Olympics champion Julien Alfred, world champion and Olympics silver medallist Sha’Carri Richardson will also be contesting for top honours and so is British pair of Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith.
Jamaica’s Tia Clayton, Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland, American Tamari Davis and fast-rising Gina Mariam Bass Bittaye from The Gambia, who has already handed her a defeat, also add to the star-studded cast.
Ta Lou-Smith’s consolation is that she is under no pressure to seal her place in the Diamond League Final.
However, she desperately wants to end the season with a win which means beating her formidable opponents in Zurich.
