Netballer Mwai Kumwenda wins for Africa
Malawi netballer Mwai Kumwenda has been crowned Athlete of the Year by the International World Games Association (IWGA). The 26-year-old netball player won with a huge lead, topping the poll with 17,910 votes. The Flying Disc Beach Ultimate Mixed Team from Germany was ranked second with 9,168 votes.
“I feel excited and honoured that so many people around the world have voted for me - I really appreciate this,” Mwai Kumweda said after receiving news of her success. And she added: “This is important for me because netball is my passion. I love netball. Netball has been my life from a very young age. This has been a journey - a journey of small steps, with each step dreaming of the next.”
Mwai Kumwenda first played netball aged 15, in Mzimbain, a small town in Malawi. She is now one of the stars of the international game, playing for the Malawi national netball team, the Malawi Queens, and the ANZ Championship franchise, the Mainland Tactix, in New Zealand.
Last year she was awarded the Player of the Tournament title for the Netball World Cup Sydney 2015. Kumwenda’s win at the World Cup was backed by impressive statistics – the shooter’s success rate was 91% shots on target and, with 321 goals in eight games. She was the only player to score over 300 goals.
Mwai thanked the people who attended her on her way to the top: “I have had great support from all around me - family, friends, coaches, team mates - and most of all my fans around the world.” The IWGA voting for the Athlete of the Year demonstrated this – during the voting period Mwai pulled ahead right from the start, and extended her lead day by day.
She not only received strong support from the netball community, but also from fans of other sports in Africa. A true trailblazer, Ms. Kumwenda is Africa’s only netballer competing in the ANZ Championship – the world’s most prestigious netball league.
And she dedicated her title to Africa, writing on Facebook: “I therefore urge you, request you and invite you that we walk together to the end of the road and claim this award for our beloved continent, and for the millions of African girls and boys still lacking belief in their own potential.”
A trophy will be awarded to Mwai Kumweda, in cooperation with the International Netball Federation. INF is one of 37 member federations of the International World Games Association.
The winners of the voting in the past were:
2013: Marcel Hassemeier (Life Saving) from Germany & The Mixed Flying Disc Team from the USA.
2014: Adam Ondra (Sports Climbing) from Czech Republic.
