#GrownWomanStrong: Elite Athlete Elisabeth Akinwale Talks Bodies, Books, And Representation

If you stumble onto Elisabeth Akinwale’s Instagram, the first thing you’ll notice is her stunning physical prowess. This is obviously an elite athlete.

A photo posted by Elisabeth Funmilayo Akinwale (@eakinwale) on Nov 3, 2016 at 6:21pm PDT

The first time I ever saw Elisabeth Akinwale in action was 2012. She was competing in the Crossfit games. Specifically, I tuned in just in time to see a hellish event involving a sledge hammer called the Double Banger.

That was not her first Crossfit games, though. She qualified for the national competition in 2011, just 6 months after starting Crossfit. She quickly made a name for herself based on her showing there, especially in the Killer Kage event. From my 2012 vantage point, specifically my couch, the image of Akinwale competing in such a powerful way stuck with me. I was a pretty sedentary Black woman and there, on television, in a sea of white faces and bodies, was a woman who I could imagine myself as. When I did start working out in earnest in 2015, I immediately sought her out on social media. I was amazed by the seemingly unending stream of encouragement she posts.  

When you stop with excuses you’re taking a risk. Risking your ego. Risking your feelings. Making yourself vulnerable. Your perception of this risk is shaped by how you look at failure, missteps or false starts. Things that are part of progress, but people are adverse to. “…there comes a point when you have to throw yourself into the action and put yo…