Tapper buoyed by chance at redemption
Published:Wednesday | August 16, 2023 | 12:13 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
BUDAPEST, Hungary:
THE MEMORY of missing out on last year’s 100-metre hurdles final despite a personal best performance is the fuel that Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper is using for Budapest this year.
Tapper arrives in Budapest in a season of change for the 29-year-old, who joined Elite Performance this year. In 2023, she is seeing gradual improvement in her performances, which not only brought her the national title for the third time, but an improved personal best of 12.44 seconds.
The joy of performing at her best at the national trials forms a perfect contrast to 13 months ago in Oregon when her fastest-ever time still meant she crashed out of the World Championships semifinals. But that is just half the story.
“World Champs last year was very challenging. I actually caught COVID. Didn’t know it was COVID, I thought it was just nerves. I was extremely fatigued, had the brain fog and everything. And I can recall going into that semifinal and wondering how I was going to run. I had no energy. I had nothing left to give,” Tapper told The Gleaner. “And when I ran that personal best, 12.52, I was like ‘oh, finals time’. And then realising, no, you didn’t make the final. It was overwhelming, one of the few times that I actually felt overwhelmed and I didn’t have any more to give.”
“It was the year that World Champion Tobi Amusan broke the world record in the semifinal, which turned the event and the world on its axis and elevated the competition to a higher level. Fast forward to now, Tapper is prepared and motivated to produce the best version of herself again.
“This year has turned out to be a huge surprise to me and I am just really happy. I do have that chip on my shoulder from last year. And I do want to come and show that last year was just not the best year. That wasn’t the best from Megan. Wait and see,” Tapper said.
Her road back to form involved a lot of soul-searching and strengthening her spiritual journey which saw her belief return tenfold.
“My hope was just renewed this year. I was able to realise that I lost my hope and my faith wasn’t connecting and so I just renewed the hope, renewed the faith, held on to God. He saw me through the trials and I am looking forward to seeing what He is going to do at this World Championships. It’s all God.”
In an event which has seen the bar raised like never before, Tapper is aware that there is no margin for error. But with a strong support system, she believes she is capable of delivering.
“The 100m hurdles is not the event to play with. You have to be ready at all times when you line up in that race. I am working towards it with my coach, God, everybody, and my support team and be the very best Megan because that is exactly what it’s going to take each and every round in this World Championships,” Tapper said.
The women’s 100m hurdles start next Tuesday.