Trying out new things and taking risks of life are some of the most feared steps by mankind, but a few people, who have been brave enough to jump out of their comfort zones, have eventually narrated success tales.
This is the untold story of Sarah Agola Otieno, a Kenyan woman who waded the murky waters of rugby to become one of the most celebrated athletes, not just in Kenya, but in the world.
She developed an interest in sports while in High School picking basketball as her first and favourite genre followed by handball at some point. She never thought of rugby.
“I think I unconsciously got into rugby because my initial favourite sports were basketball and handball. I played them in school,” she told Opera News.
As a young girl from a humble background of 13 children, with no siblings interested in Sports, she often followed her father Michael Otieno (late) to work. Otieno was an employee of Kenya Railways in the ’90s and 2000s, so Sarah joined the company’s Basketball team-of course with her father’s consent and advice. She says her father always wanted her to become a basketball star.
At the Kenya Railways premises, there was a men-rugby team; Mwamba RFC with Mwangi Muthee as the head coach. Sarah occasionally watched them training and playing but she always perceived rugby as a men-only sport. Every other female and the Kenyan society at large had the same view of the sport in early 2000.
Little did she know that the same sport she thought was more masculine and riskier would put her at the top of the world within a short period of time.
Mwangi Muthee, the Mwamba RFC coach saw her playing basketball and instantly thought she was in the wrong sport. Her physique, -which she’s maintained to date, the dedication, and her engine-like energy, told it all, but she initially thought rugby would just be as easy as any other sport.
“I didn’t know I would competitively play rugby. Also, as much as I envisioned injuries in the sport due to its nature, I never thought one could sustain serious injuries. I never thought it came with its fair share of stereotypes too, especially to women, so I gladly joined. At first, I played the two sports; rugby and basketball,” she narrated.
She says Muthee gathered a few other women and formed the Mwamba women rugby team in 2003, and Sara became a pioneer in this team, and by extension, the pioneer of women rugby in Kenya.
Kenya Lionesses, the national women team would then take shape and Sara became a pioneer in the national team. Due to her dedication, she would then be appointed the team’s captain.
Still a toddler team, their first international match was against a Ugandan team in 2004 where they received an earthquake beating of 58-0. Sara says even the weakest player of the Ugandan team, for the first time, grabbed a try.
Nevertheless, she had still not realized someone would have rugby as a full-time job. She always thought it was a leisure thing, and simply enjoyed the trips that it came with. Also, accompanying their men counterparts to matches was a huge motivator.
However, deep into her form, Sara sustained a serious injury that almost killed her. “I collided with my colleague and sustained a knee injury during training. Then in another match, I broke my finger. My mother was so furious,” she said.
But she never gave up on the sport. She picked up herself from the injury to realize her dream. She would later become the first African female to officiate in World Rugby-2012, the first female to win the local Sports Female Personality of the Year award -2010, the first Female Referee of the Year-2010, and the first overall Referee of the Year -2011. She would also become Team Manager for the national team between 2014 and 2016.
After graduating with a degree in Human Sustainable Development in 2017, Sara has been a Tournament Director for a number of local championships.