Marilyn Okoro shifts attention to mentoring and supporting others

Former British 800m  gold medalist Marilyn Okoro says seeing to the welfare of athletes a passion for her. The 36 year old who last raced in 2019 said it is always fun to give back to the society and helping others find their bearing.

Okoro has since realised that, actually, she is right where she wants to be – off the track, but supporting others on it

“Athlete welfare is a passion of mine,” says the 36-year-old, who last raced in 2019 and set her 800m best of 1:58.45 in 2008. “I have been staying involved and the ‘Unlocked’ programme with the Women’s Sport Trust has just been so invaluable to the journey and connections. I met my mentor, Claire Parnell, and she is amazing, a communications powerhouse.

“Then [fellow Olympic bronze medallist] Tasha Danvers connected with me and asked me to do a panel talk on transition and mental health. That led me to work on a platform they are building loveathletes.com.

“What lockdown did the first time around was allow me to just be still and let the chips fall where they may. I also submerged myself more into working with The Brick –the charity I now work for full-time – and I think there is something really powerful about supporting others.”

On Love Athletes, which forms part of Global Sports Management Services (GSMS), Okoro adds: “Tasha connected me and it led me to the company’s CEO Mark Philpott, whose motivation is to positively impact and change the world, one human at a time.

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Tasha saw that our visions and values align and we hit it off instantly. Mark will be mentoring and training me ready in my role as chief operating officer and his vision is that one day I take over as CEO of GSMS.