Nigerian Bobsledder Fights For Women’s Quota

If Simidele Adeagbo ever wavers in her fight to end gender-based discrimination in her sport, she takes inspiration from other women who have stood up for change.
The Nigerian monobob and skeleton athlete is on a quest to overturn qualification regulations for the Winter Olympics after missing out on a spot at this year’s Games in Beijing.
“This action is bigger than me, it’s bigger than bobsled. This is really about the future of female athletes,” she told Tidesports source.
Adeagbo was not talking about the issue of transgender athletes in sport, a major talking point right now, but about something far more simple – namely, the disparity in places available for male and female athletes.
For, while there were 58 bobsled slots for men at this year’s Winter Olympics, the women had nearly a third fewer, just 40.
“There are so many examples where it just took one woman to stand up and fight; the United States women’s national soccer team, Allyson Felix pushing for change for mothers,” she added.
“I want to make sure that no other woman is in this spot, knowing that she’s talented and capable but just sitting on the sidelines – simply because there’s a lack of gender equality.”
Adeagbo has filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), alleging that the system set up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) meant she was prevented from competing in China.
Separately, Ghanaian skeleton racer Akwasi Frimpong has aired grievances about the scrapping of IBSF’s continental quota system, which ultimately cost him a qualification spot for Beijing.
In 2018, Adeagbo became the first Nigerian to compete at the Winter Olympics, when she made history as the first black female Olympian in the sport of skeleton.
However, she missed out on automatic qualification – by just one spot – for the inaugural monobob event at the Games in Beijing this year after the qualification criteria changed.
“If I had been a male competitor, I would have definitely been at the Beijing Games,” the 40-year-old said.
“This is why it’s really important to look to the future to make sure that talented, capable female athletes are not sidelined by this gender discrimination.”
Monobob was introduced to the Olympic programme to increase the number of women who can compete in the bobsleigh events.
But look a little closer at the numbers, and they tell a very different story.