Michelle Tau: From miss lesotho to Olympic taekwondo contender

The wait for the start of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is nearly over. The opening ceremony will take place in just a few days, specifically on Friday, July 26. Meanwhile, the rugby competition will begin as early as Wednesday.

Typically, only a handful of athletes from certain countries participate in the Olympics. This is the case for Lesotho, which will have only three representatives in the French capital.

Among them is Michelle Tau. At 27, she is the first Olympic representative from her country in taekwondo in 20 years. However, until now, she could only boast achievements in a different field.

Although Tau has devoted considerable attention to her career as a professional athlete, she decided to combine it with modelling. She participated in beauty pageants and was crowned Miss Lesotho in 2017. So, yes, this same person is competing in taekwondo, even though it may sound surprising.

- The fact that I was into modelling and then into taekwondo, it was confusing for a lot of people. It still is. Back then, as a girl going into taekwondo, a lot of people would just be like, ‘this is not a girl’s sport. This is like for boys. Do you want to be a boy? What are you trying to do? They say to me, ‘you look like a girl! When you are in modelling you have makeup, your hair is done, you are in heels, you are walking, you look soft, very soft, very poised, very composed’. Then here I am, they see me also in taekwondo, they are like, ‘you fight, you are strong, how do you balance the two? - explained the 27-year-old in an interview with Olympics.com.