Olympian. Advocate. Speaker

AlexanderSmith-5 Cropped (1).jpg — From Africa's 1st Lady of Skeleton to the first class of the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa Program

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA [July 11, 2018] –Trailblazing Olympian Simidele Adeagbo is creating the future in Africa, announcing her selection for the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa Program

Meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND [June 29, 2018] – Olympian Simidele Adeagbo met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to work toward building a better world through sport.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Girls

LAGOS, NIGERIA [June 8, 2018] – Olympian Simidele Adeagbo is paving the way for Africa’s youth, inspiring the next generation of girls in Nigeria through a signature leadership and sports master class.

BBC's The Conversation

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM [May 28, 2018] –As a pioneer in winter sports, Simidele Adeagbo shares how she set out to break barriers and overcome challenges.

Simidele Adeagbo

Simidele Adeagbo is a trailblazing Olympian, passionate advocate and inspirational speaker focused on building a better world through sport. Simidele made Olympic history at the 2018 Winter Games, becoming the first Nigerian Winter Olympian and the first African and Black woman to compete in Skeleton at the Olympics. She relentlessly uses her platform to inspire others and empower women and youth. Simidele created a signature master class designed to build leadership skills and uplift girls through the power of sport. To date, she’s rolled out the program in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco in partnership with various organizations including YEDI (Youth Empowerment Development Initiative), Nike Made to Play and Grassroot Soccer. She’s also an ambassador for Malala Fund (founded by girls' education activist and Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai) and has partnered with the organization to raise funds and spread the message of empowering girls to millions of people. Simidele was also selected as a member of the Obama Foundation Leaders inaugural class in recognition of her work driving positive change across Africa.

A seasoned storyteller, Simidele led innovative marketing campaigns over a 15+ year career at Nike Inc., always pushing to elevate the voice of female athletes. Simidele now aims to use sport as a tool to create social empowerment, impact policy, increase economic prosperity and overall health and wellness. As a respected athlete, business leader and visionary, Simidele speaks on stages around the world on topics centered around personal transformation, leadership, innovation, high performance, diversity and representation, the power of sport and women’s empowerment. She’s presented on numerous stages at international conference and events including at Nike Inc., TEDx, Google, Facebook, the Forbes Women Summit and the NBA Innovation Summit to name a few. She has also been featured on CNN, NBC and ESPN and in various print publications and magazines including USA Today, Essence, Forbes, Women’s Health, Self and Sports Illustrated. She was recognized as one of the most influential young Africans in 2018 and honored on the OkayAfrica 100 Women List, Bustle’s List of Black Women History Makers, GuardianWomen 100 Most Inspiring Leading Ladies in Africa and Women’s Health List of Women Changing Wellness.