In the history of the World Championships, African female sprinters have won only two sprint titles, which were by Amy Mbacke Thiam and Amantle Montsho, both in the 400m, in Edmonton 2001 and Daegu 2011 respectively.
In Moscow 2013, Murielle Ahouré-Demps and Blessing Okagbare became the first set of African women to medal in the shorter sprints. The Ivoirian claimed double Silver in the 100m/200m while her Nigerian counterpart settled for Bronze in the 200m.
A total of ten medals have now been won by the continent’s women across the 100m, 200m and 400m. The last medal was clinched in Doha 2019, which was a Bronze by Marie-Josée Ta Lou in the 100m.
With just a few days away from the World Championships taking place in Budapest, the question on the lips of many is, “Will there be medals for African women in any of the sprint events?” Here are some female sprinters who will aim to make Africa proud in Budapest.
MARIE JOSEE TA LOU
At 34, the talented Ivorian Ta Lou, has been at the forefront for African sprinters for nearly a decade, making every global final since the Rio 2016 Olympics. Ta Lou is ranked 3rd in the world with a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.75s. She is currently unbeaten in the 100m this season, having won 10 out of 10 meets, including four notable victories at the Diamond League circuit (Florence, Oslo, Lausanne and London).
The multi-African Champion was close to becoming the first African woman to achieve a sprint double at the World Championships in London 2017 but was edged on the finish line in both the 100m and 200m by the late Tori Bowie and Dafne Schippers respectively. She also nicked a Bronze medal in Doha two years later. Ta Lou will be doubling in the 100m and 200m in Budapest, and is one of the clear favourites in the former event.
ROSEMARY CHUKWUMA
2018 Youth Olympics Champion, Rosemary Chukwuma is the second-fastest African woman in 2023 with an SB of 11.01s and a PB of 10.99s. Chukwuma has gone under 11 seconds on two separate occasions this season at the Tom Jones Memorial (10.86s) and Big 12 Conference (10.94s). However, those times were slightly wind-aided.
Chukwuma is known for being a big stepper on the world stage from her debut at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018. Chukwuma got to the semifinals on her debut outing at the World Championships last year. She went on to place 4th in the Commonwealth Games final a few weeks later.
The Nigerian will be hoping to make history by becoming the first Nigerian on the 100m medal podium and the first to make the final since Okagbare did in Beijing 2015. Her last outing was at the NCAA Championships held in June.
FAVOUR OFILI
Commonwealth Games Silver medallist, Favour Ofili who is fondly referred to as ‘Star Girl’ will be making her third World Championships appearance and her first as a professional athlete after signing under Adidas.
Ofili who has been Africa’s 200m golden girl since 2022, had an amazing start to the season when she broke her African Indoor Record with a superior time of 22.11s. To show how fast that time is, only nine women have gone under that time (outdoors) in 2023, while four women have run faster in the indoor 200m all-time list.
Sadly, the Nigerian got injured shortly after but is now on the road to recovery and trying to get into the swing of things. If Ofili can reproduce her 22.11 in Budapest and somehow get to her PB of 21.96, she will fancy her chances for a medal.
IMAOBONG NSE UKO
2021 U-20 World Champion in the 400m, Nse Imaobong Uko keeps coming through for Nigeria while on national duties, either in her primary event or the relays. The youngster is certainly no novice as she has been to the Olympics, and will be heading to her second World Championships where she is Nigeria’s only entrant in the women’s 400m for the second consecutive time.
Uko currently has an SB of 51.51s and will be hoping to break the 51s barrier for the first time in her career, and possibly make it to the final of the World Championships.
