Growth into adulthood is disconcertingly complex for young people, particularly in the teenage years, a time of physical and emotional changes, and trying to fit in society whiles keeping their own personal identity. However, 19 -year-old Tanya Muzinda from Zimbabwe is not a regular teenage girl who wants to look cool and please her peers to be accepted in a clique or fraternity, she is already one of Zimbabwe’s Motocross champions who mostly stuns her male competitors by leaving them in the dust. She won the African Union Sports Council’s “Junior Sportswoman Of the Year” award (2017), and the “Junior Sportswoman Of the year” award (2018) in South Africa at the Africa Union Sports Council Region Five Annual Sports Awards (RASA).
“When I see other girls, who aren’t doing what they really love because of what people say. They might have a passion for rugby, soccer, or basketball but because they’re discouraged, they lose hope in their dreams. And not just girls but everyone who’s been made fun of or discouraged. I want to show everyone that you shouldn’t stop doing what you love and that anything is possible if you believe in yourself,” says Tanya. Born in Harare, Tanya Muzinda started riding at the age of five. She was inspired by her father, who was a former biker. Despite the injuries she sustains due to the dangerous nature of the sport to financial constraints as Motocross is quite an expensive sport, Tanya keeps working harder to over her challenges and excel in a field highly dominated by the male population.
Tanya Muzinda is also an ambassador of the European Union to Zimbabwe for Youth, Gender, Sports, and Development. In spite of the financial difficulties she faces, Muzinda has a big heart for her community. In 2019, she paid tuition for 45 students to attend school in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital and hopes to pay for at least 500 more students. “All I want for them is to have a brighter future. I want to keep providing for them – books, school uniforms, better school furniture, and even food. I noticed that some children go to school without food, and it’s really sad to see them spending the whole day without eating,” she said.
Tanya has the dream to become the first female motocross athlete from Africa to reach international success. Her ultimate goal is to race in the Women’s World Championships and be the first Black African to win.
Source: Molah Media Online
Photo: Tanya Muzinda via Facebook
