In 2007, Sara Agola was in her prime as a player. Anyone who became a rugby player, at that time, admired Sara’s remarkable skills, but she says her mother Adah Otieno, wanted to see her married.
“My mother strongly advised me against the sport citing repercussion including a possible failure to get a husband,” Sarah told Opera News.
“Her rant escalated in 2008 when I got a gnashing face knock that literary opened my face. It took 14 stitches at the hospital to restore my look. My mother was worried to the core. She thought I wouldn’t give birth if I continued playing rugby, but my dad (late) urged me on,” she added.
However, to the happiness of her mother, Sara took a back-step in the sport as a player around 2009 but her dream of becoming a renowned person in the game never died. She shifted into officiating-which was another first in Kenyan history.
A New Zealand-based top referee spotted her and took her through some lessons in a bid to make her a referee. Again, she jumped into the opportunity. She says her first match had no much pressure but her second one was hell on earth.
“Renowned referee John Kagagi introduced me into officiating, so I thought ‘why not give it a try’, now that I was conversant with the rules of the game as a player. My first appointment as a referee was for a male encounter in Tanzania, and things went well. Maybe it’s because I was an assistant referee or maybe it’s because I was not officiating a match in Kenya.
“The second one was for a local tournament in Kenya. I can’t forget, that KU were playing against Kenya Harlequins, because I felt that I was thrown into the deepest end of my young career. All sorts of abuses were hurled at me by fans, and I felt like it was time I get consumed by the earth. It was too much for me but I decided to push on,” she said.
This match made Sara. It made her turn a deaf ear to all the stereotypes. She would then 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.
During her time as a team manager, Kenya Lionesses greatly improved in their performance. They won their first Bowl trophy in Irelands in 2015-that was also their first overseas outing. In 2016 the national team qualified for the Summer Olympics-another first in the history of the team.
“I picked myself from the remains of my first Kenyan match to achieve what I achieved as a referee. I closed my ears for everyone who thought I was a lesbian or anyone who thought I was a disgrace for venturing into a sport which was by them dominated by men. Luckily enough, I am now a proud mother of one in a healthy marriage,” she said.
Regarding dating, and the perception which people have towards women in sports, especially in rugby, Sara reveals the golden nature of the sportswomen.
“Women in sports are the most faithful and loving lot. They don’t cheat at all because of the dedication they have for sports. It then means that female athletes can only have 100% focus on her man and her sport. Nothing else. I met my love in sport-though he was, and still a rugby fan, we got married and I’m a proud mother of one,” she explained.
Sara is now the Sports Director at Rova High-Performance Sports Academy, an international institution that transforms sports skills into dream-come true opportunities.
What else would the mother of one do at 36, having been a superstar player, an incredible captain, a world-class referee, a productive Team Manager, and an international Sports Director?