Ivorian Sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou Adopts Maasai Name

Ivorian sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou, who is ranked as the fastest woman, adopted a Maasai name.

During her stay in Mombasa, the top-ranked sprinter, was on Friday, given the Maasai name Enashipai meaning happiness.

Here are the photos:

Ta Lou landed in the country earlier in the week and will be the chief guest at the Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA) gala to be held at the historic Fort Jesus.

She was on Wednesday evening joined by Nairobi governor Mike Sonko on the sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean for a light training session.

The sprinter finished last season at the top of the 100m world rankings having run four of the 10 fastest times, including a personal best of 10.85 at the season-opening Doha Diamond League meeting on May 4.

Ta Lou was excited at having come back to Kenya for the first time since 2010 when she competed at the African Athletics Championships at the Nyayo National Stadium, where she finished sixth in the semi-finals (12.16).

“I’m very happy to be in Kenya for the second time now, although it is 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 the Moi International Airport, shortly after her arrival.

She has set her eyes on the world championships to be held in Doha in October, where she hopes to improve on her 100m and 200m silver medals from the 2017 World Championships