The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
AFTER an illustrious 13-year career, Margret Magwaro is calling time on both her international basketball and rugby careers.
A gifted athlete, blessed with tremendous speed and a great mind for sport, Magwaro leaves a legacy that transcends beyond the confines of the basketball courts and rugby pitches she dominated for more than a decade.
“Time is the only thing you can’t really run away from and I’ve come to the realisation that I’m no longer as fast as I once was,” said the 30-year-old. It’s time for the new generation of female basketball and rugby stars to take over. My only hope is that they will appreciate the time and effort that went into opening the doors for them and grab whatever opportunity that comes their way with both hands.”
After 13 years on the court, Magwaro is one of the most decorated basketball players in the history of the sport in Zimbabwe. Since the turn of the millennium, Magwaro has played for almost every championship-winning basketball team, collecting ten national league titles and many other accolades. She was also part of the historic national basketball team that qualified for the All-Africa Games in 2011 and the AfroBasket Championships in 2013, both in Mozambique.
Magwaro holds the record for the most steals and assists in a single season by a female basketball player, a feat she accomplished last year with the 2014/2015 all-conquering Vixens basketball club.
She finished that season with 109 steals and 116 assists, in addition to her 208 points. Her biggest achievement, however, was off the basketball court. As part of a now famous clique, together with Charity Muchuchuti, Precious Pezani and Gina Chisale, Magwaro played a critical role in breaking barriers for women in rugby. The four horsewomen, as some have called them, were amongst the first females to make a lasting impression in what was predominately a male sport.
“It’s actually a funny story how I started playing rugby,” said Magwaro with a chuckle. “It was sometime in 2010, when I was approached by the then national team rugby coach Abigal Govera, who had seen me run and said she could use someone with my speed in her rugby team.
“I didn’t know much about the sport but she promised to teach me a few tricks and all that was required of me was to catch the ball and run as fast as I could.
“I had friends who were already playing the sport in Precious and Charity and it was not a big deal joining. I had met them when we were still starting basketball back in 2004 with Cameo. We were juniors and formed quite a good friendship and have been inseparable ever since then, playing the same sports and for the same clubs.”
Magwaro is the co-owner of reigning Bob91, Uhuru Cup, league and national champions Vixens.
Together with basketball administrator Kelvin Ben, the two have built themselves a franchise that – though still in its infancy – has already exceeded every expectation.
“I remember when the idea to start a team came to me… I had grown tired of moving from team to team and always having to conform to new rules and regulations.
“I wanted something and somewhere to call my own. I then approached Ben, who was having his own problems with numerous other clubs, and we decided to form a team that would blend my experience and contacts in the game with his leadership skills,” she said. Now Magwaro can ride into the sunset fully aware that she left both basketball and rugby in a better place.
“I am not yet fully retired; I still intend to play club basketball. It’s just on the international scene that you have seen the last of me,” she said as a parting shot.
