In this 30th edition of Women in Business, women were interviewed who are employed in front-line positions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These women share their stories of overcoming negativity, working with the community and turning unpredictable situations into something positive鈥� in the hope that their perseverance and success will become the guiding light for the next generation of women in business.

Women in Business shows who the movers and the shakers are in 琉璃神社 and that there is always a space to share stories of successful women.

Olympian Malindi Elmore brought more than just a record-setting title to UBC Okanagan when she became the head coach for cross country teams just before the start of the pandemic.

The accolades that follow the 琉璃神社 native are endless and her coaching resume keeps growing after the success she鈥檚 had not only with her athletes but personally as well.

Elmore participated in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and the 2021 games in Tokyo, Japan as well as many other prestigious events like the Commonwealth and Pan American Games. In the fall of 2019, right after being nominated for the B.C. Sports coach of the year, the UBCO Heat hired her to become the head coach of both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country teams.

Just a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and challenges came with both coaching and training.

鈥淭he pandemic gave the opportunity to build our team culture,鈥� said Elmore. 鈥淭his year we were able to compete and have practices in a more normal way that we just had this really strong, positive team culture already established.鈥�

The team also raced toward victory when the competition was on again in the fall of 2021. Elmore celebrated with her teams as the UBCO men鈥檚 cross country team finished sixth at the Canada West championships while the women鈥檚 team won silver at the Canada West championships and advanced to the USPORTS championships where they finished eighth. Racer Lauren McNeil finished second, capturing silver in the race and becoming the first person in school history to win a medal at the USPORTS cross country championships. Elmore states that it鈥檚 a combination of things that led to the team鈥檚 success.

鈥淚 think we certainly have a really strong team culture and a really great group as kind of the backbone of the team,鈥� said Elmore. 鈥淲e came in and realized that we already had a special group of athletes.鈥�

On the team is Joanna Brown, who came to UBCO because of the opportunity to have Elmore as her coach. Brown also participated in the 2021 Olympics alongside Elmore.

鈥�(Joanna) was a leader on the team both in terms of performance and your natural leadership abilities,鈥� said Elmore. 鈥淪he just reached out to me and was considering her options for university after this year at the Olympics and we had a couple of conversations and obviously finding if it was the right fit for her and she ended up coming here.鈥�

However, on top of coaching, Elmore found her own challenges with getting ready for her second Olympic games.

鈥淚t was harder in some ways. It was more the uncertainty,鈥� Elmore said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 travel anywhere to race. In Canada, it was a lot stricter than other places so I didn鈥檛 see people I was racing against. I had the option to go to the U.S. to race a bit but with two young children and the two-week quarantine, it didn鈥檛 really make sense for me from a family perspective.鈥�

Elmore, who holds the Canadian record marathon time, came ninth in the women鈥檚 marathon at the 2021 games.

She hopes to partake in the 2024 Olympic games in Paris saying, 鈥淣ever say never, you never know.鈥�

Since the fall, the training has continued for Elmore and her teams as they continue to strive for more.

鈥淲e train year-round. I was training with the crew this morning. That鈥檚 actually one of the win-win situations for me, I get to do the runs with the team which I love. They鈥檙e a committed group.鈥�

Elmore sees the challenges from the last two years as an opportunity to grow.

鈥淥bviously there are challenges but I think where we can find opportunities, where things change, is where we really have success.鈥�

jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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