American discus thrower Laulauga Tausaga sparked laughter after sharing a cheeky meme on her Instagram Stories that poked fun at how often people mispronounce her name.
In the video meme, she wrote; “Me if getting my name mispronounced was an award.” A fitting joke for Tausaga, who quipped that if there were an award for most-mispronounced name in athletics, she would surely win.
The post came just days after the Iron Wood Throws Classic on Saturday, June 28, where Tausaga-Collins closed out the day with a win in the women’s discus. She threw 66.59m (218-5). The world champion has been in solid form this season, steadily building toward bigger stages.
Laulauga Tausaga, became the first American woman to win a World Championship gold in the discus in 2023 with a massive personal best of 69.49m in Budapest. She has had a remarkable career rise. She previously competed in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships, made the finals. Laulauga, clinched silver at both the 2019 Match and the NACAC U-23 Championships. Her early promise was evident when she took gold at the 2017 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships.
Earlier this season, at the Wanda Diamond League meet in Xiamen, Tausaga placed third behind Valarie Allman (68.95m) and Cuba’s Yaimé Pérez (66.26m), with a throw of 64.91m.
A showdown Awaits at Eugene
Still, Tausaga remains a key figure in the global discus scene. She is set to headline a powerhouse field at the 50th edition of the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, July 5, in Eugene. The women’s discus event will see Tausaga go up against two giants of the sport. That is , Olympic and Diamond League champion Valarie Allman, and Croatia’s Sandra Elkasević, a six-time Diamond League winner and back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in 2012 and 2016.
With world-class names on the start list, the showdown at Hayward Field promises to be one of the highlights of the ninth Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season.
