Nigeria’s Female Athletics Coaches: Pushing for space in a male-dominated field (II)

For the 2019 African U-18 and U-20 Championships in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 11 coaches (nine male and two female) made the trip, with the two females being Ojokolo-Akpeki and Osakwe. For the African Games in Rabat, Morocco, Ojokolo-Akpeki was once again the only female coach selected to the team, alongside five male coaches. She thereafter made it to the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, as the only woman out of the eight coaches selected.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020 put a pause on competitions and global travels as the world grappled with the realities of the pandemic. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was moved to 2021. Eventually, an all-male coaching crew made up of five individuals, was selected to travel with the Athletics team to Tokyo. Even though her athlete, Itsekiri, was one of the sprinters representing Nigeria in Tokyo, Ojokolo-Akpeki was not invited for the trip. She would later be included in the team for the World U20 Championships a month later in Nairobi as the only female coach.