Lilian Odira on Why She Is at Peace Working with Female Coach as Athletics Kenya Closes Gender Gap

World 800m champion Lilian Odira has weighed in on the importance of female coaches handling women athletes amid efforts by Athletics Kenya to close the gender gap.

Odira has enjoyed success on track, winning World Championships gold last year before adding the Commonwealth silver medal recently, under the tutelage of veteran coach Jacinta Muraguri.

With the World Athletics Gender Leadership Strategy, whose target is to have a 40 per cent minimum female representation of CECS Level 1 coaches among member federations 2029, tacticians like Muraguri are helping Kenya towards this target.

For Odira, it gets more comforting when it is a female coach working with her as she is free to open up on some personal stuff that she would ordinarily not tell a male tactician.

“I love being coached by a woman because she understands more about me as Odira, that I'm a mother just like she is,” Odira told World Athletics.

“She knows what I go through when it comes to sports. When I come to explain it to her, she understands more than maybe when I explain it to a male coach.”

Muraguri agrees with this take and hopes the World Athletics target can be achieved as it will not only encourage more women but also boost the performance of female athletes.

“It is very encouraging and it is high time ladies came up because who will fill this 40% if we are not there?” posed Muraguri.

For Odira, it is a no brainer. She points to the improved performance of female athletes in Kenya, who are now winning more medals than their male counterparts, as proof that the space for women needs to get bigger.

“We should change the narrative that it is only the male coaches who are capable of doing it. Female coaches have also done excellent work,” added Odira.

“We've changed the sport narrative. People back then thought that women could not do well in sports but now the narrative has changed. When you look at the Kenya team, it is now the women who are performing.”

Athletics Kenya has already taken cue with 44 women from various regions trained on a CECS Level 1 course delivered by the African Athletics Development Centre (AADC) last October.

“We are encouraging the women not to look at what the culture says about women. Do not sit back,” said Athletics Kenya chief administrative officer Susan Kamau. “We have administration, technical and coaching courses that you can take.”

With legendary athletes like Janeth Jepkosgei, Rose Tata Muia and Milcah Chemos among those training the next generation of Kenyan athletes, there is great hope that more world beaters will emerge as the country also closes the gender gap.