An independent forum for high performance female coaches to connect and share their experiences coaching in elite international track & field.
Our Purpose
The FCN | Women’s International Athletics Coaching Forum is an advocacy group of international high performance female athletics and track & field coaches who want to see change in the current elite coaching systems globally.
✔️ Independent Platform
We provide an independent platform for high performance female coaches to connect and share their experiences coaching in elite international athletics.
✔️ Advocate for Change
We advocate for change within the high performance athletics coaching system for the betterment of female coach recruitment, retention, and recognition of female coaches.
✔️ Advancing Female Coaches
WIACF members provide the FCN insights and support towards the ‘Advancing Female Coaches in International Athletics’ project.
✔️Build a Global Picture
Together, WIACF will create a unique library of insights and experiences that can help guide the future of athletics coaching around the Globe.
FCN | WIACF Founding Members
Our group of international athletics coaches have decades of experience and have coached at the highest levels of our sport. Their knowledge, insights and experience are paramount to the work of the WIACF and the change that can be made.
Laura Turner – Alleyne
Lead 4 x100m UK Athletics & Director West London Track & Field (GB &NI)
Laura is the 4x100m Lead for UK Athletics, overseeing relay strategy and coaching to achieve success at major championships and the Olympic Games. She also supports the UKA Futures programme and has served as Team coach for GB&NI. Laura is also the Head Coach of West London Track & Field.
Instagram: @lauraturner100
Vickie Croley
High Performance Jumps and Combined Events Coach & Head Coach of Western University (Canada)
Vickie is in her 32nd year as the Head Coach of Western University and coaching with the London Western Track & Field ClubShe has also coached some of Canada’s top high-performance athletes, including Decathlete Damian Warner to Gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games and served as Team Coach for Canada.
Instagram: @vickiecroley
Mechelle Lewis Freeman
Olympic Sprints Coach, Most Winningest 4 X 100 relay coach in US history (USA)
Mechelle is the winningest USA Relay Coach of all time, as she coached the women’s 4 x 100, 4 x 400 and mixed 4 x 400 to Gold at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and Gold and WRs at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.Mechelle is also the founder of TrackGirlz.
Instagram: @mechellelewisfreeman
Carole Bam
Head Coach of Belgian Cheetahs 4 x 400m Relay Team and mixed 4 x 400 (Belgium)
Carole is a former sprinter who competed for Cameroon at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. She is now a 400m specialist based in Belgium, as well the Head Coach to the 4 X400m women’s relay team, leading them to their first ever medal at the European Athletics Championships 2024.
Instagram: @rolkah
Vicky Huyton
Sprints Coach , Performance Coach Mentor and Founder of the Female Coaching Network
Vicky is the founder of the FCN and a global leader in coach development. Formerly a sprints coach, she now specialises in coaching elite coaches focusing on wellbeing and performance.
Instagram: @femalecoachingnetwork
Sharon Hannan
Sprints & Hurdles Coach and former coach to Olympic Gold Medallist Sally Pearson (Australia)
@Instagram: sharon_hannan
Jackie Newton
Performance Director at Danish Athletics (Denmark)
How To Join WIACF?
Membership is informal and is aimed at female athletics / track & field coaches with the following experience; coaching international athletes, team staff / coach on an international team at a major champs, S&C coaches who work with elite level athletes.
As a member, you will have access to attend our live webinars, receive monthly newsletters and be a part of a growing and developing global athletics coaching community.
☑️ Coaching International Athletes
Coaching junior and or senior international athletes who have competed at Diamond League, Area championship (ie European Championships), Commonwealth Games, World Championship and or Olympics, or Paralympics in the last 20 years.
☑️ Team Staff Experience
Coaches who have had a role within International Team Management such as Team Coach, in the last 10 years.
Get Your WIACF T Shirt!
Represent our global coaching community with this unisex and women’s fit tee!
Join the next WIACF Webinar
TBC
WIACF Members
Coached at the collegiate level for almost a decade before joining OAC as the assistant coachHas coached athletes at Olympic and World Level, including former WR holder Yared Nuguse
Name: Kelsey Quinn
Endurance Coach, USAI currently assist with coaching, race planning and logistics for athletes who are apart of the Melbourne Track Club alongside 2 other coaches . I work with both Female and male athletes from across a number of countries, Australia, Ireland, USA . I attend training sessions and travel to races with the athletes throughout the year .
Name: Sonia O’Sullivan
Endurance, Australia, Ireland & USAI am actively coaching a wide range of athletes and abilities in events from 800m to the marathon. Including undertaking a coaching role with England Athletics. Currently the coach to Laura Muir alongside Steve Cram.
Name: Laura Weightman
Endurance (GB&NI)Sports Professional with over 20 years of Programme Development and Sports Coaching in Ireland. Expert in High performance Athletics and Performance Nutrition, creating coaching programmes from Grassroots to High-Performance.
Name: Sophie Matabaro
Combined Events, IrelandStarted as a coaching as a coaching assistant with Edo state Sports commission Nigeria and has now coached athletes to World Indoor, Outdoor and African Games Championships
Name: Areguamen Kate
Sprints, Hurdles, Long Jump (Nigeria)Started coaching about 15 years ago, started with young athletes and went all the way to elite coaching.Frida has now coached athletes to World Champs and Olympic Games.
Name: Frida Lindahl
Sprints Coach (Sweden)I have been coaching athletics for 15 plus years I got into coaching when I got GF as an athlete. I coach a mix gender group and have had athletes compete and Euro and World XC. Plus some National age group champions and English schools medalist.
Name: Hayley Hemmings
Endurance Coach, EnglandOlympian and coach to a number of elite endurance runners, Head Coach of New Balance Manchester Team
Name: Helen Clitheroe
Endurance Coach, GB&NIMember of the team gb coaching team at Paris 24 Coached athletes, at commonwealth, European & Olympics and worked with multiple Olympian Holly Bradshaw.
Name: Kate Rooney
Polevault Coach, GB&NI50 years involvement in athletics – athlete,coach, manager, educator and researcher- grass roots to HP
Name: Dianne Huxley
Endurance Coach (Australia)UKA level 3 performance High Jump Coach. Coach on England Athletics Talent Program. Coach to Paralympic and World Para Champion in High Jump (T44), Jonathan Broom-Edwards MBE.
Name: Deirdre Elmhirst
High Jump, (GB&NI)Elite strength and conditioning coach and women in sport advocatehaving worked with a number of elite teams and individual athletes, including Nicola Olyslagers, Australian High Jumper.
Name: Nicolai Morris
S&C Coach, AustraliaAthletics New Zealand High Performance Programme Para Lead and Coach, Raylene was also the Chef de Mission for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Name: Raylene Bates
Combined Events, New ZealandA respected Paralympic/Olympic sport leader, part of a collaborative 3-person High Performance Director team for Athletics Canada, driving leadership, strategy, and athlete and coach advancement on the world stage.
Name: Carla Nicholls
High Performance Director, CanadaEndurance has coached sprint and hurdle athletes to Olympics, World Indoor and Outdoor, Area Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Name: Endurance Ojokolo Akpeki
Sprints and Hurdled Coach (Nigeria)Coach, UKA Expert Jumps Panellist, Scottish Athletics Dev Coach of the Year 2019, World Masters Finalist, British Empire Medallist, Founder of Peebles Netball.
Name: Linda Nicholson
Horizontal Jumps Coach (Scotland)
Name: Noelle Morrissey
Sprints & Hurdles Coach (Ireland)Latest News
FCN & UK Athletics Join Forces to Drive Positive Change in International Athletics
The Female Coaching Network (FCN), the world’s leading organisation dedicated to empowering female coaches, has announced a partnership with UK Athletics (UKA) to drive positive change in how athletics coaches are recruited, developed, and retained for Great Britain & Northern Ireland international teams. This collaboration is part of the global project Advancing Female Coaches in International…
Continue Reading FCN & UK Athletics Join Forces to Drive Positive Change in International Athletics
Advancing Female Coaches in International Athletics: FCN Launches Global Initiative Ahead of Tokyo 2025
The Female Coaching Network (FCN) is proud to announce the launch of its groundbreaking project, Advancing Female Coaches in International Athletics, made possible through funding awarded by the International Athletics Foundation (IAF). This ambitious initiative will be delivered in the lead-up to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo 2025, in partnership with the newly formed Women’s International Athletics Coaching Forum (WIACF)and…
FCN Launch the Women’s International Athletics Coaching Forum (WIACF)
The Female Coaching Network (FCN) is proud to announce the launch of the FCN |Women’s International Athletics Coaching Forum (WIACF), a groundbreaking initiative designed to connect and empower high-performance female coaches in elite international athletics. As the landscape of track and field evolves, the need for a strong, independent platform dedicated to female coaches has…
Continue Reading FCN Launch the Women’s International Athletics Coaching Forum (WIACF)
The Need for Systemic Change in Track & Field
On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Mechelle Lewis Freeman made a shocking announcement on her social media: she was no longer the USA Head Women’s Relay Coach. A stark black-and-white Instagram post featured a photo of the USA women’s 4x100m relay team celebrating their gold medal and World Championship record while in Budapest in 2023. Alongside it, her words:…
Continue Reading The Need for Systemic Change in Track & Field
FCN Founder to Speak Alongside Professor Leanne Norman at the 9th European Endurance Conference
Leeds Beckett University and the Carnegie School of Sport host the 9th European Endurance Conference in Septmeber 2024. The conference is part of the European Athletics Coaching Summit Series and will be uniting coaches from across Europe and beyond. For the first time, the conference will focus specifically on female athletes competing in endurance events…
FCN Founder Invited to Speak at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – AUGUST 24: <> during day six of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 24, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics) More than 200 leading figures from the world of athletics came together in Budapest on Thursday 24th August 2023 for…
Continue Reading FCN Founder Invited to Speak at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest
FCN x World Athletics Highlighting Female Leaders in Track & Field
https://youtu.be/QMxbzxM2eCQ global This 12 minute video created by the Female Coaching Network on behalf of World Athletics, features a number of inspirational women in athletics, who share their own thoughts on gender equity and why there is a lack of opportunities for women at the upper echelons in the sport. Introduction: Vicky Huyton, Founder of the Female Coaching…
Continue Reading FCN x World Athletics Highlighting Female Leaders in Track & Field
