The Roadrunners are adding Olympian and NCAA Division II National Champion Fatoumata Kabo to hurdles and sprint corps for the 2024-2025 season, Aaron Fox, UTSA’s director of track and field/cross country, announced on July 15.
Born in Senegal and raised in Carpenedolo, Italy, the 22-year-old will be heading to Paris soon for the 2024 Olympic Games after earning a spot in the Italian national team.
Kabo will compete in the 4x400m relay on Aug. 9 and 10. Registering a career-best of 52.24 seconds in the 400-meter individual medley, Kabo took home fourth place in the individual event final at the Italian Championships and secured her invitation on June 29.
In addition to recent qualification announcements of former UTSA Roadrunners Alanah Yukich and Diego Pettorossi, Kabo becomes the fifth Roadrunner to reach the Olympics.
Following the games, Kabo will travel to her new home in San Antonio after competing for Angelo State University the past two seasons. Rounding off her first year doing long hurdles, she claimed two NCAA Division II national titles in the 400-meter hurdles (57.39) and ran a 51.4-second split as the second leg of ASU’s 4x400m relay (3:32.88 combined).
We asked Kabo about her upcoming Olympic experience — and what she’s looking forward to at UTSA this fall.
Q: What is your daily routine like as you prepare for the Olympic Games and what keeps you grounded mentally as you participate in such a rigorous sport?
Right now, I am in a training camp in the mountains, in a beautiful place in the middle of nature with the Italian national team. Every day I train with the girls, we try relay changes and then physiotherapy if needed. Since it’s my first time with the national team, I’m trying to keep up and get to know my teammates as best I can.
Q: What thoughts can you recall having when you learned you earned a spot to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games?
When I heard I was selected for the Olympic Games, I was incredulous, I still am. My first time in the national team and I was called for the Olympics, a dream come true. I definitely feel joy and gratitude.
Q: When do you head to Paris?
I will go to Paris on Aug. 6 if God wills it.
Q: What will your Olympic experience be like, day-to-day?
I don’t know what my Olympic experience will be like, but I definitely want to live it day by day with the right mindset.
Q: What have you learned about yourself through your time training as a college and Olympic athlete?
I learned that I can be mentally strong, more than I thought. I learned that more than valuing the word “motivation,” I had to focus more on “discipline” because sometimes it happened that I didn’t feel like training but I had to go anyway because it’s my duty and it’s what I need to go strong in competition.
Q: What are your main goals, both professionally and personally for the 2024-2025 season?
I am superstitious so I will keep my goals for next year to myself. But definitely one of my goals is to join a military company and start my career as a professional athlete, then make my passion become my job. Then, who knows? If I learn to [do] alternate leg [bounds] you can also see me in the 400[m] races. In a year, so many things can happen and anything is possible.
Q: What has your transition been like adjusting to life in Texas?
My first semester was tough, I even thought about leaving everything and going back home. As soon as I arrived in Texas, I spent the night at Whataburger; it was cold. I felt abandoned. I didn’t know anyone. There was a very high language barrier, and for the first few periods I hardly spoke to anyone, either at school or during practice (except with my French teammates and the Italian).
At first, I did not feel integrated into the team. After the end of the first semester, I returned home to Italy, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to America because the environment I was in didn’t satisfy me. I had injured my hamstring and felt like my physical health didn’t matter to anyone.
During the summer, I rested well and tried to heal. Then, I decided to accept and return to America even though after returning I was not 100% healed from the injury. I wanted to prove that the scholarship I was given was deserved. I wanted to show them that I was talented and would perform well for the team — and so I did.
I have been diligent in doing physical therapy and making sure to listen to my body. After all this passed, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I started talking a lot more, made a lot of friends with students from all over the world, and felt like I finally started living my American dream. It wasn’t easy but I’m glad I made the right choice and didn’t give up at the first difficulties because I knew that by staying, I would make the leap as an athlete.
Q: What are you most excited about moving to San Antonio and attending UTSA?
The thing I am most excited about is getting to know Coach Jackie [Richards] and Kareem [Streete-Thompson] in person, because they made a very good impression on me; they took an interest in me as a person and my family, and that means so much to me. It is a coach-athlete relationship that I like: good communication.
Then, another aspect is moving to a bigger city with more activities to do in my free time. My first year and a half has always been school, coaching, and home, but now I would like to set aside time for things I enjoy as well. I can’t wait to start classes and learn new things.
