Simidele Adeagbo is the first ever female skeleton athlete from Africa.
What is skeleton, you may ask? Well, think bobsledding, but with a mini sled piloted by a single rider.
The 36-year-old recently partnered with Nike to create a short film that chronicles her pioneering journey titled, Forever First.
The Nigerian sportswoman learned about skeleton through the Nigerian Women’s Bobsled team in December 2016, while working as Nike's running brand manager. She first touched a skeleton sled in September 2017, and her hard work eventually resulted in her making the Olympic team.
Adeagbo said that the skills she learned as a former professional track and field athlete helped her a lot as she transitioned to a new sport.
“I honestly didn't know much about the sport, but knew that there was a lot that I could draw from my track and field background to help me succeed in it," she told Nike. "In each, you run as fast as you can for about 30 meters to gain momentum before you launch into or onto something. I was able to pick up the push start very, very quickly because I already had that experience with the runway of triple jump.”
The four-time NCAA All American also shared in the Jan.9 interview what inspired her to tackle the challenging sport of skeleton.
“When I retired from track and field, I didn't expect that I would have a second chance at the Olympics — and I would have never thought that I’d be a winter Olympian," Adeagbo said. "But when I saw the article about the bobsled ladies, it wasn't so much my personal Olympic dreams that grabbed me, it was more of the meaningful nature of what they were trying to accomplish that really inspired me.”
She went on to explain that she feels the weight of being the first African to compete in skeleton, but she bears it happily.
“Ultimately, for me, this is about breaking barriers in winter sports. It’s about making history. And leaving a legacy. It's about moving sport forward. That's so much bigger than just me being an Olympian,” she said.
Check out the full short film Forever First narrated by I'm Judging You author Luvvie Ajayi below:
