Marilyn Okoro

Marilyn Chinwenwa Okoro (born 23 September 1984, in London) is a British track and field athlete. She finished third in the 800 metres at both the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. She was on the bronze winning 4 × 400 m relay at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Marilyn Okoro is public speaker, Life Coach and Mentor, PT and champion of women in sport. Driving change in professional sport and athlete welfare she founded a podcast series called Detach the Stigma. Courageous conversations about the lifestyle and stigmas athletes face at the price of chasing their dreams. Following official retirement from a 15 year career in Track and Field, Marilyn is currently working on a number of causes close to her heart; Marilyn is Lead Gracefull Girls mentor, a mentoring programme for teenage girls in sport. Marilyn is also an ACGP governance practitioner.

Marilyn grew up in Northwest London Stonebridge Park one of the most vibrant yet deprived boroughs in London. Marilyn took up running aged 10 when she attended Abbots Hill, a boarding school in Hertfordshire. As a keen lacrosse, tennis and netball player, Marilyn believes that her diverse background in sport is reflected in her versatility in athletics. Whilst she specialises in the 800m, she is also competitive in the 400m and 1500m.

She also attended Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, and on 26 June 2007 graduated from the University of Bath with a B.A. degree in Politics and French, then starting her first season as a fulltime athlete. Once at Bath University Marilyn chose to specialise in Athletics. Here was where much of her early global success in track began, captaining the team and winning an 800m Bronze Medal at the World Student Games in 2005. The following year she was selected to represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

Marilyn went on to represent the Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the England team for 9 consecutive years. Highlights to date include a World Championship Bronze, European Bronze and Silver and Olympic Medallist.

Outside of athletics, Marilyn enjoys singing (Gospel, Jazz & Soul), travelling and spending quality time with her family, friends and of course not forgetting her ‘favourite’ Bentley (puppy). She is a fluent French speaker and conversant in Spanish. In 2016 Marilyn was the Sports category winner at the Igbo Women’s Awards held in London.