TE FLAN Talita

General
DELAYING RETIREMENT
After she graduated from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ, United States of America in 2020, she had planned to retire from swimming and find a full-time job after competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. But after the Games were postponed until 2021, she decided to continue competing in the sport for another year. "I've been doing swimming for more than 20 years and I think it will always be a part of my life. After retirement I would still like to be involved. I'm not going to compete to win a medal or make the finals. I'm just trying to end my swimming career by going to the Olympics for the second time." (gculopes.com, 31 Aug 2020; azcentral.com, 01 Mar 2020)

COLLEGIATE CAREER
After she attended high school at Liceo Classico Arnaldo in Brescia, Italy, she studied at and swam for University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY, United States of America from 2016 to 2019. In her senior year she then transferred to Grand Canyon University with the help of Kenyan swimmer Emily Muteti. (azcentral.com, 01 Mar 2020; gculopes.com, 01 Jan 2020; gowyo.com, 01 Jan 2019)

DUAL CITIZEN
Born in Italy she has both Italian and Ivorian citizenship, as her mother is from Italy and her father is from Cote d'Ivoire. She visited Cote d'Ivoire at age three. "People back in the Ivory Coast created a fan page for me when I was competing and a lot of people sent really positive messages to me. I have a lot of family members who live back in the Ivory Coast who watch me on TV and send me messages." (azcentral.com, 01 Mar 2020; Facebook page, 15 Jul 2016; brescia.corriere.it, 05 Aug 2015)

OCCUPATION
She has worked as a sales assistant in Phoenix, AZ, United States of America and as an office manager in Thornton, CO, United States of America. She also aspires to a career in the fashion industry. (gculopes.com, 31 Aug 2020; LinkedIn profile, 01 Jul 2020)