by sportswriters Wang Qi and You Huiyuan
DAKAR, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- As a teenager, Sheila Chajira could hardly have imagined that a small break in her routine would set her on a new path.
Now a two-time Olympian and veteran of Kenya's women's rugby team, Chajira remains committed to sport's transformative power, embracing a new mission at Africa's first-ever Olympic event.
"I am not just the Sheila that I know: I am a better Sheila," she said of being named an Athlete Role Model for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
"It's a path of helping athletes stay on the right path and attain their goals through your example and mentorship."
Orphaned at the age of nine, Chajira and her sisters moved between makeshift homes, often finding themselves back in the slums. Through it all, sport provided an anchor.
"I played football. I ran. Sports kept me going," she said. "It was just uphill. But sports took over."
In high school, Chajira never skipped her mandatory morning run before evening football training. "A friend used to tell me, 'You have a body that can play rugby. You can see what happens.' I was hesitant at first," she said.
One morning, however, she was running late. "That day I was free, I decided to go and see what rugby was all about. Since then, I never went back to football."
Rugby offered a culture that "streamlined" her life. "Coming from the slums in Kenya, you see people get married early, get pregnant, or do drugs," Chajira said. "The moment I joined rugby, I wasn't able to focus on those things. I looked forward to getting out of this place for training."
The sport taught her respect, teamwork and self-reliance while opening doors to new opportunities and connections.
Turning professional after high school seemed a natural next step, even as rugby was still in its infancy locally and making a full-time living from it remained, as Chajira put it, "a maybe thing" for women.
"We used to have two or three tournaments a year," Chajira recalled. At times, the team could not afford to travel, and matches were missed.
Her turning point came at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where rugby sevens made its Games debut and Kenya became the first African women's side to compete. "I had no idea what to expect," Chajira said, recalling a mix of excitement and uncertainty.
Drawn into a tough Pool B, the Kenyans battled through the group stage but scored just 17 points, while a dominant New Zealand topped the group with 109. Even after a 24-0 defeat to Japan, Kenya refused to fold, closing its campaign with a landmark 22-10 win over Colombia.
Although an 11th-place finish was modest on paper, the experience of "playing against the world's best of the best" filled Chajira with immense pride and showed how far the team had come.
During the group stage, Chajira found herself on the same pitch as New Zealand star Portia Woodman, an idol she had long admired.
"She gave us some advice and told us that even they didn't start up there. It was slow for them. Because they trained consistently, they were able to perform the way they did," she said.
The Rio Olympics fueled her confidence in what the Kenyan team could achieve. "If we get more support or better facilities, we can be at the top of the world," she believed.
"We knew the intensity, the consistency, and what we needed to compete at a higher level. To the younger girls, we were able to tell them how incredible it is to play in the Olympics."
Driven by greater ambition, a clearer vision and a transformed mindset, the Kenya Lionesses stepped onto the Tokyo stage, with Chajira wearing the captain's armband. Pandemic disruptions fractured their training schedule, but they climbed one place to a historic 10th-place finish.
For Chajira, being an Olympian is every athlete's dream, regardless of age. "I'm able to get opportunities that I've never expected, to get the drive of being that athlete who's able to train and play among the world's best."
Maintaining peak physical condition in a demanding, high-impact sport has been a relentless challenge.
"When you get injured and get out of this rugby space, it's always hard," she admitted. "I always tell myself: 'It is not going to happen forever; It is a phase.' Hold on to it, learn from the experience, and definitely it will end. Here I am."
Since Tokyo, the road has been marked by near-misses. A 24-7 loss to China in the Paris 2024 Olympic repechage final dashed Kenya's hopes of making a third consecutive Olympic appearance, while a 22-0 defeat to South Africa at the 2025 Africa Women's Sevens in Nairobi marked the team's fourth runner-up finish since winning the title in 2018.
Nevertheless, rugby continues to expand its footprint in Kenya. The national team secured a place on the new HSBC SVNS 2 circuit in February, with Nairobi hosting the inaugural leg. At club level, Mwamba RFC Women claimed a historic fifth consecutive Kenya Cup title in May, beating Kenya Harlequin 30-20.
"We're able to play friendlies, compete in more tournaments, and play a home game, like the HSBC SVNS 2," she noted. "We couldn't have said that rugby was a career; then we were just doing it for fun or just getting out of a dark space. But right now, it's something I'm happy to say that rugby pays."
As the game expanded, so did Chajira's influence.
Off the field, she embraced motherhood, earned her World Rugby strength and conditioning credential, mentored young talent in slum academies and took charge as head coach of the Kenya Harlequin women's side.
"There are some girls from Kibera who I coached nine years ago. They play for the senior teams right now in Harlequins, and also some of them have been called up for the training school of the national team," she said. "Seeing such things happen, I'm so proud of the journey. I'll try my best to keep on doing it."
In April, the 32-year-old veteran was selected as an Athlete Role Model for Dakar 2026. Continuing a tradition established at the inaugural YOG in Singapore in 2010, she will help guide the next generation of athletes as they emerge onto the world stage.
"Most Olympics were held outside Africa. It was a dream far away. But right now, being brought here in Africa, it's reachable," she said. "For the girls and boys who are playing local tournaments, they have something to look forward to."
Following Saturday's opening ceremony, the rugby tournament begins the next day at Complexe Iba Mar Diop. Kenya's women's squad joins Pool A alongside Australia, China, Tunisia and host Senegal.
As the only African rugby personality among the Athlete Role Models for Dakar 2026, Chajira was thrilled by the prospect of welcoming the world's finest young talents to her home continent.
"Put yourself out there. Every opportunity you get, just go with it. Just work hard, focus on what you want and you will achieve," she added. ■
