Funmi Oduwaiye

Funmi Oduwaiye
Personal information
NationalityBritish
BornOluwafunmilola Oduwaiye
(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
F64
Events
Shot put, discus throw
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsShot put: 12.11m (New Delhi, 2025)
Discus: 33.23m (Cardiff, 2022)
Medal record
Women's para-athletics
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2025 New DelhiShot put F44
Representing  Wales
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place2026 GlasgowDiscus throw F44

Oluwafunmilola Oduwaiye (born 15 January 2003) is a British para-athlete who competes in shot put and discus throw. She won the bronze medal in the F44 shot put event at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships and the silver medal in the F44 discus throw at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.[2]

Early life

From Cardiff,[3] she was 11 years old when she joined Cardiff Met Archers basketball side. In 2019, she represented Wales at the Under-18 European Basketball Championships in Moldova and was named one of the players of the tournament.[4] She is of Nigerian descent.[5]

Career

Oduwaiye took up para-athletics in 2022, following multiple surgeries to her legs. An initial surgery to try to correct Genu valgum resulted in a damaged artery, with subsequent surgeries unsuccessful.[6][7] She was left paralysed in her right leg from the knee down.[8]

Competing at the Welsh Athletics Championships, Oduwaiye threw a new personal best in the shot put of 11.03 metres. That day, she also threw 32.26 metres in the discus.[9] In July 2023, she made her World Para Athletics Championships debut in Paris.[10] She finished sixth in the F64 discus and fourth in the F64 shot put.[11][12]

In March 2024, Oduwaiye was announced as a subject of a Channel 4 documentary detailing athletes in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, along with other athletes and para-athletes such as Keely Hodgkinson, Hannah Cockroft and Jake Wightman.[13] She finished 5th in the shot put and 8th in the discus throw at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[14]

On 3 August 2025, Oduwaiye won the national para discus title at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham.[15] In October 2025, she competed at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships and won the bronze medal in the F44 shot put event, with a personal best throw of 12.11 metres.[16]

At the 2026 British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Outdoor Championships Oduwaiye won the ambulant women’s (1 kg) discus with a throw of 36.75m and the ambulant women’s shot put (4 kg) with 11.26m.[17] Oduwaiye won the silver medal representing Wales in the F44 discus throw at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after throwing a Games' Record in the first round before being ultimately usurped at the top of the leaderboard by defending champion Goodness Nwachukwu throwing a new world record.[18][19]

References

  1. ↑ "WPA - New Delhi 2025 Results Book" (PDF). paralympic.org. p. 456. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "Oluwafunmilola Oduwaiye". Powerof10. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  3. ↑ Jones, Lewis Rhys (3 September 2023). "Young Welsh Para-athlete planning to compete for Team GB at the 2024 Paralympic Games". ITV.com. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  4. ↑ "FUNMI ODUWAIYE: THE BASKETBALL STAR FINDING NEW DIRECTION IN PARALYMPIC SHOT PUT AND DISCUS". Sport.Wales. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Nwachukwu Defends Discuss Title with a World Record, Lifts Team Nigeria to Seven Gold Medals". This Day.
  6. ↑ "Oduwaiye eyes Paris after basketball dream fades". BBC Sport. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  7. ↑ Steinberg, Rachel (1 December 2023). "Para thrower Funmi Oduwaiye 'always knew I was destined for great things'". The Independent. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  8. ↑ "LET'S TALK: FUNMI ODUWAIYE - ABLE BODIED TURNED GREAT BRITISH PARA ATHLETE". Sportin.Wales. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Fun Time . . . Funmi Oduwaiye Sets Sights On World Para Athletics Championships In Paris". Dai Sport. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  10. ↑ Bailey, Gareth (6 July 2023). "Oduwaiye seeks gold on World Para-athletics debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "ODUWAIYE MARKS WORLD DEBUT WITH SIXTH IN DISCUS". British Athletics. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  12. ↑ James, Gareth (15 July 2023). "Funmi Oduwaiye Targeting Paralympic Glory In Paris After Impressive Senior Championship Bow". Dai Sport. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  13. ↑ "Channel 4 documentary follows nine GB athletes in run-up to Paris Games". Athletics Weekly. March 28, 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  14. ↑ "Funmi Oduwaiye is already counting down the days to LA 2028 after Paralympic debut". Braintree and Witham Times. 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  15. ↑ Poole, Harry (3 August 2025). "Asher-Smith and Hughes break records at UK Champs". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Britain's Oduwaiye & Greaves claim Worlds bronzes". BBC Sport. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  17. ↑ "Weekend Round-Up (2 - 3 May)". Welsh Athletics. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Commonwealth Games 2026, Evening Session, Wednesday July 29: Sensational silvers". England Athletics. 26 June 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  19. ↑ Crumley, Euan (29 July 2026). "ELISE THORNER TAKES BIG STRIDES FORWARD WITH COMMONWEALTH SILVER". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.