Remember the Name | Tayleb Willis

Everyone has a childhood dream. For some it’s flying planes or fighting fires, and for others it’s nursing or science – but for Tayleb Willis it has always been about becoming an Olympian.  

From the outside, the 18-year-old with 468,000 TikTok followers is a polarising figure. Sporting dyed dreadlocks coupled with a pink headband, along with earrings and comparisons to a young John Steffensen – it’s no secret that the self-confessed showman craves the spotlight.

But sit down and talk to the man even briefly and you will be consumed by his self-belief, it’s infectious – enough to turn sceptic into supporter almost immediately.  

“I have two goals for 2022. One is to win the World Junior Championships, and the other is to break the Australian Under 20 record in the 110m hurdles” he says.

Willis does not mince his words, and he has the talent to back it up. The hurdling sensation would need to shave 0.22 seconds off his 13.48 personal best to eclipse Nick Hough’s mark of 13.27, and he is the second fastest athlete globally among those eligible to race at next year’s World Junior Championships in Cali, Columbia.

Forced to wait as the 2020 World Junior Championships in Kenya were postponed to 2021, Willis then had to deal with Australia’s withdrawal form the event due to COVID-19 concerns, before being unable to attend a representative team camp on the Gold Coast due to border restrictions.

“From a young age I have always tried to tell myself that when things don’t go to plan, I need to use it as a motivation. I always say that things happen for a reason, because when you have that mentality, I feel like you can do anything,” he says.

“Every single training session I think of that, and it gives me the drive to do bigger and better things this season.”

Coached by Peter Benifer, international competition will be a welcomed challenge for Willis, who has not lost a domestic hurdles race since the 2018 Australian Junior Athletics Championships – a race that he remembers vividly.

“It was in the 100m hurdles on the back straight in Sydney at the 2018 Australian Junior Championships, I lost to Riley Hemsworth,” he says.

The race was a turning point for Willis, who concedes that being physically less mature than his competitors at a young age fueled an obsession with perfecting his technique and progressing through the ranks.

“I would just drill into my head that I can do it. I write in my diary the day before an event that I can do it. I love looking into my diary and seeing what I wrote before my competition and coming home to give it a big fat tick once I have conquered it,” he says.

Coming from a gymnastics background, Willis started athletics at the age of eight, before watching his older sister Lateisha win silver at the Youth Commonwealth Games before representing Australia at the World Junior Championships.

“After seeing her compete at that level, I just thought why can’t I do that?” he says.

With Olympic silver medallist John Steffensen in his corner as a mentor, Willis says their ability to connect on multiple levels will be a great asset for his career moving forward – as he hopes to follow in the footsteps of his sporting idol.

“My favourite athlete is definitely Grant Holloway. I love the way he goes about his business and I love watching him hurdle. Hopefully one day I can race him, and beating him would be crazy,” he says.  

Willis credits his Mum (Christine) as a major factor in his success due to her unwavering commitment to his athletic career, whilst saying his Dad (Isaac) has gifted him with Ghanaian heritage that only aids his athletic prowess.

Seemingly destined to don the green and gold on national teams in the years to come, Willis’ message to Australian athletics fans is a simple one:

“I want people to know that I’m a driven and committed person that loves to have fun. I like it when people refer to me as a showman, because they are my true colours.”

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 17/11/2021