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Africa's fastest woman in history Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith led a revolution of top athletes withdrawing from their event at the African Championships in Douala due to poor organisation.
Following the air of frustration by Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith concerning the horrible organisation at the ongoing African Championships in Douala, she has led a revolution of top athletes withdrawing from their events as speed king Letsile Tebogo also false-started in his 100m semifinals.
The fastest woman in African history complained about the poor planning and treatment in Cameroon, as she was forced to take a local taxi with her team amongst many other reasons.
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"There is so much things I wanted to say about the organization of the African championship !!!," wrote Ta Lou-Smith on her X handle in a series of tweets on the poor organisation.
"I am hurt and disappointed!!!," she continued.
"My team have to take a yango ( taxi) to go to the stadium because the transportation sucks !!!"
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14:41 - 21.06.2024
'I am hurt' - Ivorian track legend Ta Lou-Smith angrily reacts to poor organisation at the African Championships
Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith is unhappy with the poor treatment given to her and teammates at the African Championships in Cameroon, which she openly expressed her anger on it.
Letsile Tebogo joins Ta Lou-Smith expressing the poor African Championships organisation
Botswana's world 100m silver medallist Tebogo also joined the veteran sprinter fuming about the sour planning, revealing in an interview with Kenyan journalist Lynne Wachira how they were forced to wait for over an hour after warming up and why he may not run at the championship again.
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"We'll see about the final because there's a lot of disorganised stuff, so maybe I'm going to run or I'm not going to run," said the African Record holder in the men's 200m event.
"You do warm up, you stay 1 hour to be called, we know that time is money in athletics. You can't do warm-up sit and then be called," added Tebogo.
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22:18 - 21.06.2024
'I may not run again' - Tebogo joins Ta Lou-Smith airing his frustration over poor organisation at the African Championships
Letsile Tebogo has doubts of racing at the African Championships following poor organisation shown to athletes in Cameroon.
The elite sprinter who later competed in the 100m semifinals, false started and was disqualified, which has raised doubts on his continous participation at the continental showpiece.
Ta Lou-Smith, Favour Ofili, Shaun Maswanganyi, and Chukwuma withdraw from African Championships
Many top athletes withdrew from their events at the championship with Ta Lou-Smith leading the party in the revolution against the horrible organisation in Cameroon.
The multiple African medallist who qualified with the fastest time in the heats of 11.14s didn't show up in the semifinals - thus withdrawing from the championship.
Nigeria's speed sensation Favour Ofili also did not start her semifinal race despite clocking the second-fastest time of 11.22s in her heat. At the same time, her compatriot Rosemary Chukwuma joined the list of withdrawals that didn't compete on Day 2.
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19:36 - 21.06.2024
African Championships: Ta Lou-Smith, Ofili, and Bass-Bittaye cruise into 100m semifinals with fastest times
Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, Favour Ofili, and Gina Bass-Bittaye cruised to the 100m semifinals at the African Championships in Cameroon.
Gambia's double African Games champion Gina Bass-Bittaye will eventually win the title in 11.16s to successfully defend her crown won at Mauritius 2022.
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Meanwhile, South Africa's speedster Shaun Maswanganyi also took to his X handle, explaining that he feared for his health owing to the poor conditions athletes were put in, forcing him to exit prematurely from the meet.
“Long story short, the organisation of the whole meet (African Champs) is absolutely dismal, to say the least. We, as athletes, are constantly told to ‘do as the Romans do’ and are expected to perform in the harshest conditions. If nothing changes, I’ll be in Houston by Saturday.
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“I wish I were exaggerating when I say my health is at risk, as there is hardly any accommodation for my allergies. I can only imagine what other athletes are experiencing, from sharing beds to food-related problems. Additionally, transport has been a significant issue.
“That being said, I booked my flight this morning, and I’m currently typing this at the airport. I vlogged the whole meet, so I’ll be posting on my YouTube channel soon. If we don’t look out for ourselves as athletes, no one else will. Fin,” he said.
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