Bad Boy Running Ep 246 - The truth about athlete funding and selection with Marilyn Okoro
Marilyn Okoro's experience of being denied further funding to continue her athletics career really is a thing of shame. That's why Jody and David invite her onto the podcast to talk about her experience and uncover just how closed the system really is.
Now a vocal advocate for athletes, Marilyn enjoyed success on the track finishing third in the 800 metres at the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final and bronze in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2007 World Champs.
She is a holder of an Olympic bronze medal for the 4 x 400 metres relay after two teams that finished ahead of them in the 2008 Beijing Olympics were disqualified for doping and they were retrospectively handed the medal... EIGHT years later! (No prizes for guessing that one of the disqualified teams was Russia - the other was Belarussia).
In this episode, Marilyn talks about her path into the sport and the issues she faced working with UK Athletics and a hierarchy who insisted she did things their way. This is a really eye-opening episode that gives you an insight into the way athletes are treated by the funding bodies who have the power to make or break careers based on sometimes quite oblique criteria.
Enjoy!
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