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Maria Helene Henriksson Akraka (born July 7, 1966) is a Swedish retired entrepreneur, television host and former athlete.

College career

Akraka competed as an athlete in both cross country and track & field for Iowa State in the United States. She finished her career a four-time All-American and a two-time Big Eight champion.[1]

In 2010 she was inducted into the Iowa State Cyclones Hall of Fame.[2]

International career

Akraka competed in four European Championships,[3] three World Championships, and the 1992 Olympic Games in both the 1,500 m and 800 m races.[4]

Post-athletics career

Akraka worked previously as a host of betting company ATG's channel, Channel 75, where she interviewed Horse racing jockeys. She also worked for TV4 covering horse racing. In 2006, she started working for SVT, hosting extreme sports game show Megadrom[5][6] and also covered various sports competitions such as the Olympics and DN Galan.[7]

In 2009, she and her husband bought an estate with an equestrian training stable in 2009. She now spends much of her time training race horses.[8]

Currently she serves as an advisory for sporting goods retailer, Intersport[9] and the founder/CEO of Sportcore, a career agency for former professional athletes.

Personal bests

Surface Event Time Date Place
Outdoor 400 m 54:50 20 August 1988 Malmö, Sweden
800 m 2:00:58 8 August 1991 Lahti, Finland
1,000 m 2:38:30 25 July 1995 Monaco
1,500 m 4:08:63 19 August 1994 Brussels, Belgium
1 mile 4:32:04 10 September 1993 London, England
2,000 m 5:47:76 4 September 1994 Sheffield, England
3,000 m 9:04:35 28 August 1994 Stockholm, Sweden
Indoor 800 m 2:00:01NR 19 February 1998 Stockholm, Sweden
1,500 m 4:07:74 18 February 1992 Genoa, Italy
Road 1 mile 4:29.0h 1 February 1998 Santee, CA, USA
Reference:

Personal life

Akraka is married to former triple jumper Tord Henriksson and they have two children.[10]

Akraka was born in London to a Swedish mother and a Nigerian father.[11] The family moved to Sweden but her parents separated and her father moved back to Nigeria. She was raised by her mother in Rågsved outside Stockholm. Her father Smart Akraka is a former track and field athlete who competed in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.[12] She has a twin brother, Michael.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Black History Month: Maria Akraka - Iowa State University". Iowa State University. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Iowa State Athletics". cyclones.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. ^ NORWOOD, ROBYN (2 October 1990). "In the Long Run, Swedish Track Star Competes to Stay in Shape : Cross-country: For Maria Akraka, running with UC Irvine's team is preparing her for spring and a shot at an NCAA title at 800 meters". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Maria AKRAKA - Olympic Athletics | Sweden". International Olympic Committee. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Sunneborn i sportsåpa i SVT | Gotland.net". Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  6. ^ "SVT Malmö satsar på extremsport - Kultur & Nöjen - Sydsvenskan - Nyheter dygnet runt". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  7. ^ "Hd.se - Maria Akraka "Jag saknar inte träningsslitet"". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  8. ^ "Mountain Horse's Stjärnor till Globen - Plyhm Kommunikation". Plyhm Kommunikation (in Swedish). 22 November 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Maria Akraka ska locka kvinnor till Intersport - Market". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Paret som kommer igen". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Maria Akraka". Discogs. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  12. ^ "AFN mourn Smart Akraka, Stephen Keshi | MAKING OF CHAMPIONS". MAKING OF CHAMPIONS. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
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