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The first in a series of gender leadership podcasts stars Ashley Kovacs, as she shares insight into coaching her husband, two-time world shot put champion Joe Kovacs, while also being the USATF women’s throws coach.
The gender leadership podcasts are presented by athlete and Athletics Ireland Women in Sport manager Lilly-Ann O’Hora and Vicky Huyton, coach and founder of the Female Coaching Network, as they interview a number of coaches involved with the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, either as a team coach or a personal coach.
In an interview conducted before the World Championships, Ashley described her vital role at the event as an honour but also something that she takes in her stride, as she previously served as the USATF men’s throws coach back in 2019, when Joe won the most competitive men’s shot put competition of all time.
“My role with USTAF is more as a facilitator, whereas my role as a personal coach is to do the same thing that I have been doing all year: calling the shots to make sure that they are prepared to compete at the highest level,” she said.
Ashley explained that she never envisioned coaching Joe, but when they found themselves having to decide between retirement in 2018 or continuing into the new year, they knew they had to fix something. Taking that leap of faith and throwing themselves into the unknown turned out to be very rewarding.
SOURCE: WORLD ATHLETICS
