Bobsled · Athletes · No. 2
Simidele Adeagbo
Africa’s first woman in Olympic skeleton, now a monobob pilot chasing the Winter Olympics.
- 20thSkeleton, PyeongChang 2018
- 1stAfrican woman in Olympic skeleton
- 2022First African sled race win
- 26th2026 Olympic ranking
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Simidele Adeagbo in our words
A Nigerian born in Toronto, Ontario Canada and brought up in Ibadan, Nigeria and the United States; she was brought to limelight due to her participation in the 2018 Olympics skeleton which she qualified for, she was birthed in the year 1981 on the 29th of July.
She attended the University of Kentucky and was noted as the first ever Nigerian and African woman, and the first Black woman, to have participated in the sport of skeleton at the Olympics. Prior to her participation in the skeleton sports she formerly played Track & Field but retired in June 2008, she has served as a Nike body double for Serena Williams and has worked for Nike in South Africa since 2012.
She is a triple jump record holder for the University of Kentucky but developed an interest in the sports of a skeleton in 2017; after trying out for the Nigerian bobsled team in July 2017 she took up skeleton in September 2017 and made an attempt to qualify in the sports of Skeleton for the 2018 Olympics to represent Nigeria. She was sponsored by her employer, Nike. Adeagbo was noted as the first Nigerian to participate in the Winter Olympics sports which was held in 2018.
Triple jumper to slider
Born in Toronto on 29 July 1981 to Nigerian parents, Simidele Adeagbo spent her early childhood in Ibadan before moving to the United States. At the University of Kentucky she was a four-time NCAA All-American and school record holder in the triple jump (13.99m), and she missed the 2008 Olympics by about 20 centimetres.
Olympic skeleton and monobob
She took up skeleton in September 2017 and only five months later raced at PyeongChang 2018, finishing 20th and becoming the first African woman and first Black woman in Olympic skeleton. She then moved to monobob: in 2022 she won a EuroCup race in Winterberg, the first international sled race win by an African athlete, and in 2024 she became the first African bobsleigh athlete at an IBSF World Championships. Ranked 26th, she missed the Milano Cortina 2026 Games by a single place.
Off the ice she founded the SimiSleighs Foundation, a leadership programme for girls in Lagos.
More Nigerian bobsled
Bobsled in Nigeria
Africa’s first Olympic bobsleigh team and the story behind it.Read more
History of bobsled in Nigeria
From a 2016 dream to PyeongChang 2018, with a timeline.Read more
Nigeria at the Winter Olympics
Every Nigerian Winter Olympian and result, 2018 to 2026.Read more
Nigerian bobsled and skeleton athletes
Adigun, Onwumere, Omeoga and Adeagbo: the Hall of Fame.Read more
Quick answers
Simidele Adeagbo: quick answers
Who is Simidele Adeagbo?
A Nigerian skeleton and bobsleigh athlete, born in Toronto in 1981 to Nigerian parents and raised partly in Ibadan. At PyeongChang 2018 she became the first African woman to compete in Olympic skeleton.
Did Simidele Adeagbo compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
No. She was ranked 26th in women’s monobob, one place outside the 25 qualifying places for Milano Cortina 2026.
What did Simidele Adeagbo do before skeleton?
She was a triple jumper: a four-time NCAA All-American and University of Kentucky record holder, who narrowly missed the 2008 Olympics.