🏆 MEET THE 2025 U SPORTS ATHLETES OF THE YEAR NOMINEES AND WINNERS
🏃♀️ Favour Okpali, Western
What made this year's Western track and field team so successful?
I think this year, even last year, we had such a great team and we knew that we could do something special. But this year we felt we can and we will. It was our coach’s last year, and we were like, ‘Let's all do it for Vicky.’ I think we had around 15 graduating athletes this year, so we thought if there's any time, it's now. So I think all season, the whole team was really locked in and pushed each other.
What do you feel you’ve most improved on this year?
I’ve improved in my confidence, like going into workouts. I feel like I have a lot more confidence in my abilities on race day. I'm not as in my head. I'm just more like, ‘Okay, it's time to do this and get this done.’
Who has helped you along the way?
My friends have been so supportive and helped me set high goals. That's really helped me throughout the season and my teammates have pushed me through every practice. My coaches helped hold me accountable. Because it's easy to be like, ‘Oh, this is actually a hard workout, maybe I could skip this one,’ but everyone, really help me hold myself accountable. And my family has just been so supportive.