MOYENGWA DROPS THE BAR
Gyno gives athlete a six-year sick leave
Botswana’s female weightlifting pioneer, Magdeline Moyengwa, has drawn curtains on her rather short sporting career.
Moyengwa, who gave birth by a cesarean section last year, has been given a six-year sick leave by her gynaecologists, meaning she could only return in 2028, aged 27 years old.
“I’d be too old to come back,” the athlete said in an emotional interview with Voice Sport.
“This is the end of my career,” she said.
The 22-year-old broke the barrier and became the first female weightlifter from Botswana to qualify for the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tashkent, Uzebekistan and the Olympics in Tokyo. In the previous year, she had also recorded another first, becoming the only athlete from Botswana to compete at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships at the age of 18.
However, the young and talented lifter found herself stuck between her Zezuru culture, family and marriage. She still, however, defied the odds and managed to leave her footprints in the sand, despite her cameo appearance on the sports scene.
Following her return from the Olympics, Moyengwa bowed to pressure from family and announced a break from the sport to fulfil her duties as a wife.
Now after successfully delivering by a c-section, the athlete, who had planned to return to action this year, a few months after giving birth, was dealt a heavy blow after medical experts warned her that her body would completely heal after six years.
The 2017 Junior Africa Championships’ Silver and Bronze medallist has a healthy son who turns a year old next month.
“I wanted to return after giving birth, but now I can’t,” she sobbed.
She told Voice Sport that it was not an easy decision to take a break from the sport, but she had to do it for the sake of
her small family.
“I was told I shouldn’t lift heavy weights, and that I will be fully recovered after six years. This is the end of my career. I will be too old to go back to the sport. I love weightlifting but my health comes first,” added Moyengwa dejectedly.
Moyengwa was awarded the Special Courage Award over the weekend at the Inaugural Annual Botswana Women Sports Awards. She walked away with a trophy and P10,000 courtesy
of Footballers Union of Botswana (FUB).
“I’ve been through the most and I really thank the organisers for the recognition. I hope my story will motivate other women in sports,” was the former weightlifter’s parting shot.