Beloved Lexington teacher and coach was an Olympian and ‘true sports legend’

Peter Ogonji Akatsa, a PE teacher at Lexington Christian Academy for 25 years, was once asked, “What is a unique experience, talent or interest that you bring to your classroom to help shape the learning experience of your students?”

Akatsa, who died Saturday at age 63, could have answered that he was a two-time Olympian who excelled at both field hockey and rugby, or that he once helped lead his home country to win a gold medal at the All-Africa Games.

He didn’t even mention it.

Instead, Akatsa simply said he brought “love and care for the students’ well-being.”

Coach Akatsa, said LCA Athletics Director Terry Johnson, was a favorite with the kids, “a man of deep faith” who had “just an incredible sense of humor.”

He was “a wonderful, wonderful man,” Johnson said. “He was just real with the kids,” someone to whom students wanted to give their best.

Akatsa, known to friends as Pete or Papa, was born in Kisumu, Kenya, and played field hockey for the Kenyan team in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, an obituary stated.

The Kenya Hockey Union said in a Facebook post that Akatsa was “a gifted speedster” in both hockey and rugby who “inspired many along the way.”

He was “a true sports legend” who also “proudly donned the rugby jersey for Kenya Harlequin and was a key member of the East African Tuskers during their Zambia-Zimbabwe Tour in 1982,” the Kenya Rugby Union said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

After serving as a physical education teacher and coach in Kenya, he moved to the United States in 1992 and earned a degree from Eastern Kentucky University before embarking on his teaching career at LCA, according to his obituary.

“While we are heartbroken over his passing, Pete leaves a legacy of character, strength, and perseverance. His love for the Lord, compassionate heart, contagious smile, and sense of humor impacted everyone he worked with, taught, or coached,” the school said in a statement posted to Facebook.

In addition to teaching physical education, Johnson said Akatsa coached the boys and girls soccer teams at LCA at different points over the years and was a coach for youth soccer teams in the community as well.

“You won’t find anyone who says a bad thing about Pete Akatsa,” Johnson said. “It’s a great loss for our school and all the kids that he impacted.”

A Facebook post by Daktari Mutiso said the Kenyan community in Lexington will miss him too.

“Pete was a friend and adviser, a parent to all of us,” the post stated. “We are devastated at this loss.”

Akatsa had battled colon cancer, WKYT reported last year.

He is survived by two children, a son, Marvin Akatsa, and daughter, Samantha Akatsa, as well as two grandchildren and seven siblings, according to his obituary.

A local celebration of life is scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 26 in Theater 81 at Southland Christian Church’s Harrodsburg Road location.