Annie Tagoe – The Wild Child

“I’ve always been a little bit of a wild child,” Annie Tagoe reflects with a light-hearted laugh. Her fearlessness as a sprinter has brought her back stronger after every obstacle that came her way. “If I want to do something, I will make sure that I do it.”

Annie Tagoe is our digital cover story for July 2024

Tom Ford bodysuit, Adidas trainers, Emefa Cole ring

For Annie Tagoe, bravery is her superpower. At a young age, Annie was spotted by her physical education teacher in primary school, who noticed her impressive speed as she went up and down the football field effortlessly, never stopping to catch her breath. This led her to compete abroad in Singapore, the first of many championships for her to race in. As the years went by, she’s endured injuries which resulted in surgeries in both of her knees, but still, she hasn’t slowed down. Along with her daily rehabilitation training, Annie has broadened her interest and ventured into the modelling industry, allowing her to dip back into her childhood dream of being an actress.

On top of her accolades as an athlete and now a model gracing magazine covers, Annie is also the eldest of her four siblings. Raised by a single mum in north London, Annie and her siblings were always supported by their mum in every interest they wanted to explore. It’s a mixed household filled with an athlete, a paralegal, an engineering student, a football enthusiast and a baby sister who loves maths and languages. When asked about her mum, Annie calls her the superwoman of the family who “has always been supportive of our interests and our hobbies…When I went to America, though, she wasn’t. She was just like, ‘What do you mean? It doesn’t make any sense.’ She struggled a little bit to come to terms with it, but now she’s so okay because I come home and visit.”

In 2022, the athlete slash model’s move across the Atlantic was a decision that significantly impacted her running journey. “It was between stopping athletics or packing up my whole life, and trying somewhere else. I was just having so many injuries, and it was really draining because every time I got hurt, my mind just started thinking about all these negative, negative things,” she says. It was at a point where her physical pain started to bleed into the mental aspect as well. “It was that bad. I ended up having a little bit of an eating disorder because I just felt like I’m not training well, so I’m putting on weight, which is probably why I’m getting injured. So you just have all these things in your head and don’t realise how they’re all linked. And then I’ll look at my body and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m so fat. How am I going to run? This is why I’m getting hurt’.” Nevertheless, Annie did what she did best – she brushed herself off and tried again.

With time, the dry heat and beaming sun of Houston, Texas, worked its magic on Annie’s health. She was getting acquainted with a new city, coach, and the glorious southern charm. “It was just nice to have a clear, free mind again,” she recalls. Her new coach, Vince Anderson, played a vital role in her performance in the last two years, noting that “he’s super calm” and speaks from a judgement-free place. The nurturing energy coach Vince was able to provide was crucial, especially after Annie’s most recent injury with her achilles, halting her journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics. When approaching her coach regarding the injury, he encouraged her calmly, “The season isn’t over; it finishes in September – I know you’ll still be able to run till then.” Annie’s determination and discipline radiate through her skin as she shares that she “didn’t put herself in a slump” and is still “getting up every day” to attend training and rehab sessions. “So my mind is not where it would have been before because I was in hell before. I didn’t know sports can do so much damage to a person,” she says.

While she takes a break from the tracks in Houston, Annie is back in her childhood home, speaking to me from her living room while the rain drizzles through the windows behind her. She’s been busy with her daily morning meditations, endurance exercises, and her favourite pastime activity – pottery! Heading to the studio has brought her much joy as it keeps her “focused for hours,” allowing her mind to rest.

This part of the conversation made me realise the extent of Annie’s lionhearted spirit. When asked about her persistence throughout the years, she responds without a beat, “I’m a risk taker.” Leading us to talk about that one morning, she woke up and said to herself,  “I need to go skydiving today, alone.” It was a two-hour drive from her home in London, so she buckled in and hopped out of a plane, 10,000 feet in the air. “I’m never doing that again,” she said.

16Arlington top & skirt, Adidas x Wales Bonner trainers, stylist’s own socks