184. Omena Babalola | “They Call it a Finish Line For a Reason”

Inspired Soles

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Omena Babalola is an accomplished 55-year old masters sprinter from Winnipeg MB and an absolute force to be reckoned with. Born in Nigeria to two high achieving parents, Omena came to Canada in her early 20s and spent time on Prince Edward Island before completing her MBA at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and following her man to Winnipeg. Omena currently works as a Professional Auditor at Manitoba Hydro and is the Vice President of Athletics Manitoba.

As for her start in athletics, Omena describes what it was like to “be so slow when her mom was so fast.” Despite coming dead last in her first foot race, Omena stuck with sprinting and chose to focus most of her energy on things that would give her the biggest return on investment. It turns out this is a valuable life skill off the track as well.

After taking some time off while having her twins in 1997, Omena was re-inspired in her late 30’s by Saskatchewan-based sprinting legend Carol LaFayette-Boyd, who is over 25 years her senior. Carol gave Omena some positive words of encouragement about her potential, she decided to re-engage with competition and, as they say, the rest is history.

Omena still holds numerous university and provincial sprinting records and has medaled on national and international stages in the 200m as well as the 4x100m relay. In 2023, Omena was awarded female masters Athlete of the Year by Athletics Manitoba.

Connect with Omena:

• Instagram: @omenab7828
• Facebook: @omena.babs

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