Fourie aims to be the first Tuks female athlete to contest a World Championship final in 11 years

If there's one TuksSport statistic that doesn't make for great reading, it's the number of female athletes who have competed in the finals of a World Athletics Championship.

Since 2003, only Caster Semenya (800m), Wenda Nel (400m hurdles) and Surita Febbraio (400m hurdles) have managed to do so. Semenya was the champion in 2009 and won silver in 2011. Febbraio was eighth in 2003, while Nel finished sixth in 2015. This means that 11 years have passed since a Tuks female athlete last competed in a World Athletics Championship final.

But all that could change in September when Marione Fourie lines up to race the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo. It will be the third time she will do so. The previous two times, she reached the semi-finals each time and improved her best time. She was also in action in the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics last year.

One notable aspect of Fourie's athletic career is her annual improvement. Over the past four years, she has improved her best time by almost a full second. In 2021, it was 13.47 seconds, and currently, it is 12.49 seconds. She has not been that fast this year, but she has achieved another major breakthrough by finishing third in Diamond League events twice in a row. The Tuks athlete ran a time of 12.62 seconds both times. This means that she is currently ranked third in the Diamond League standings in the 100m hurdles.

Right at the start of the season, Fourie also improved the South African indoor record for the 60m hurdles. She achieved this in Denmark, winning in 7.91 seconds. Fourie has won five of the six indoor races in Europe in which she has competed and was second once.

So far, she has competed in the 100m hurdles five times. She has been on the winning side three times and finished third twice. The time of 12.62 seconds, with which she finished third in the Diamond League, is one of the 12 fastest in the 100m hurdles in the world.

What makes all these statistics remarkable is the fact that Fourie's coach, Jaun Strydom, died unexpectedly. A week after his death, Fourie qualified for the World Championships at the Grand Prix event by winning in a time of 12.69 seconds. At the time it was the fastest time in the world. Few athletes realise the strength of the bond between an athlete and their coach. According to Fourie, not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her coach.

"I haven't come to terms with Coach Jaun’s death yet. There is not a day I don’t think of him, but I told myself that when I'm on the track, it's only athletics that matters. I'm capable of qualifying for the final at the World Athletics Championships. But that means I have to work every day to be faster and stronger."

"The most important thing I learned from Jaun is that doing the little things right can make a big difference. And that hard work ultimately leads to success. As a coach, Jaun never allowed shortcuts. If something had to be done, it got done. I am still abiding by this."

Regarding her second and third-place finishes in the Diamond League, Fourie said she was confident of racing well, as she was in good shape.

"The two third places proved to me that I don't need to stress. I'm good enough to compete against the best."

Fourie will compete again in Hengelo on June 9.