Cardiff’s Funmi Oduwaiye is making her way to the paralympics following a knee operation that went wrong two years ago that left her disabled to compete in the F64 discus and shot put, according to Wales Online.
Oduwaiye, 21, is a Cardiff native who was a notable basketball player that played for Wales with plans to head to the United States. Those plans were derailed when a routine knee operation, to try and correct knock knees so she wouldn’t have any further issues when she went to the United States, went wrong, but she is not letting the disability keep her out of the action.
“The surgery didn’t go as planned. It damaged an artery in my right leg which then led to more issues, more complications and then more surgeries” Oduwaiye said.
Despite a number of surgeries to try and correct the issues, Oduwaiye was left in extreme pain and became paralyzed in her right leg from the knee down.
“It was a very tough process and took a toll on me mentally but I got through it by the grace of God and I’m here now.”
Now she is focusing on a new adventure in a different sport.
“I started around March or April 2022. I was throwing and both Anthony Hughes and my coach were telling me how good I was but I thought they were just trying to keep me in shotput as I wanted to try rowing. I didn’t really know how good I was until Anthony Hughes started telling me that even though the deadline to sign up for the Commonwealth Games had gone, he was going to try and push for me to get in. I kind of didn’t want to go as I thought I’d just started and might look silly,” Oduwaiye laughed. “But that’s when I started to think that if I was good enough to go to the Commonwealths, then surely I must have something.
“Anthony Hughes was telling me that I would be going to the next World Championships and then the Paralympics after that but I thought he was just saying anything. But look at me now. I finished 4th and 6th at the World Championships, which is a good result for someone who’s only been doing the sport for a year and a half. I’m about to go to Paris after two and a half years of doing the sport, so he was speaking the truth.”
“I don’t think I would be able to be the elite athlete I am without that funding from the National Lottery,” Oduwaiye said.
Now she turns her attention to Paris.
“It will just be good to see it for myself, I’m really looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to going into the stadium and seeing how many people are there. I feel like it will be crazy to see so many people in one space to watch us perform.”
“For sure to enjoy the experience and to perform the way I think I can. If I perform the way I do in training, I will be happy with the end result. Wherever that places me I will be fine with it.”
