AKINRADEWO Foluke

United States of America

Date of Birth: 5 Oct 1987

Age: 33

Gender: Female

Height (m/ft): 1.91/6'3''

Place of birth: LONDON, ON

Birth Country:

Canada

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Volleyball	Women USA United States	1

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Ariake Arena	Women's Preliminary Round - Pool B #02 USA United States 3 ARG Argentina 0	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Women's Preliminary Round - Pool B #08 CHN China 0 USA United States 3	Finished
Finish On: Jul 30	Ariake Arena	Women's Preliminary Round - Pool B #18 USA United States 3 TUR Turkey 2	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Women's Preliminary Round - Pool B #20 USA United States 0 ROC ROC 3	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Women's Preliminary Round - Pool B #26 USA United States 3 ITA Italy 2	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Women's Quarterfinals #34 DOM Dominican Rep. 0 USA United States 3	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Women's Semifinals #36 SRB Serbia 0 USA United States 3	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Women's Gold Medal Match #38 BRA Brazil 0 USA United States 3	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Olympic Games

Rank	Event	Year	Location
2	Women	2012	London, GBR
3	Women	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA

World Championship

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2014	Italy
4	Women	2010	Japan
5	Women	2018	Japan

Nations League - Final Round

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2021	Italy
1	Women	2018	People's Republic of China

Grand Champions Cup

Rank	Event	Year	Location
3	Women	2017	Japan

Luke (FIVB, 09 Jun 2015)

Occupation:

Human Biology - Stanford University, United States of America

Husband Jonathan Gunderson, son Kayode [2019]

Languages spoken:

Hisamitsu Springs [Kobe, JPN]

Sakai Shingo [club], JPN; Karch Kiraly [national], USA

Position style:

Middle blocker (teamusa.org, 18 May 2015)

2005 for United States of America, Pan American Cup in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (teamusa.org, 28 Mar 2014)

She competed with a left knee injury during the semifinal match at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (mercurynews.com, 18 Aug 2016)

She missed the 2013/14 season due to injury. (teamusa.org, 30 Jun 2014)

National league:

V.League 1 [JPN] (volleyball.world, 23 Feb 2021)

She took up volleyball at age 16 in high school in the United States of America. (si.com, 20 Mar 2012)

She initially competed in athletics and basketball, but was encouraged by the volleyball coach to give the sport a try. She first tried the sport at an age group training camp in Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America. "The first week I thought 'this is crazy', I was just awful, and I was sore in areas I didn't know I could be sore. When I thought about volleyball I thought about picnics and barbecues, really chilled, but it definitely wasn't. It was a rude awakening, but I think the challenge of it kept me going." (si.com, 20 Mar 2012)

Her parents. (cultureshocknigerians.com, 28 Jul 2012)

Before a match she listens to music and dances in the changing room. (usavolleyball.org, 31 Mar 2011)

Philosophy:

"Volleyball is one of the few team sports where every single person on the court has an impact on the outcome. The ball can come to you at any time, so complete focus is required. The sport represents 'team' in every sense of the word." (teamusa.org, 28 Mar 2014)

She was named in the Best Six team of the year for the 2020/21 V.League 1 season in Japan. (volleyball.world, 23 Feb 2021)

She was named in the Dream Team [middle blocker] at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2019)

She was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] and Best Blocker at the 2010 World Grand Prix Final in Ningbo, People's Republic of China. (teamusa.org, 28 Mar 2014)

She received the Best Spiker award for the 2012/13 Super League season in Azerbaijan. (sp-community.com, 27 Apr 2013)

During her time at Stanford University, she was named Volleyball Magazine [joint] National Player of the Year in 2008, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, American Volleyball Coaches Association [AVCA] National Player of the Year in 2007, and received AVCA All-America first team honours in 2006, 2007 and 2008. (gostanford.com, 30 Dec 2009)

General Interest

General
MOTHERHOOD
In 2021 she spoke about her experience of competing as a professional athlete after giving birth to her son Kayode in 2019. "My routine has been quite different. The biggest thing for me is having less downtime. I have a fantastic support system with my husband, who's really stepping in, and my mother, and I couldn't do what I'm doing without them. It makes it even more difficult to be away from home and it's not easy having to be a mum after a hard practice, but it's so worth it. And my son is a big motivation for me. I hope one day when he gets older he can be proud of what I've been able to accomplish with my team." (en.volleyballworld.com, 03 Jun 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2015 she co-founded the Give It Back Foundation with seven of her international teammates. They aim to host volleyball camps in their hometowns and provide young players with the opportunity to be coached by elite athletes. She is also a registered emergency medical technician. (giveitbackfoundation.org, 15 Apr 2015; worldofvolley.com, 29 Nov 2015)

TRIPLE NATIONALITY
She holds citizenship in Canada, United States of America and Nigeria. (teamusa.org, 28 Mar 2014)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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