What comes to mind when the name "Wanyama" is mentioned? In most cases, Victor Wanyama pops up due to his accolades of playing for English Premier League (EPL) side Tottenham Hotspur or his multi-million transfer to Major League Soccer side CF Montréal.
Victor has undeniably achieved huge success in his stellar career, and his siblings are out to match the star studded player.
In the case of Mercy Wanyama, her prowess and unmatched ability to dominate basketball games has been labelled as second to none.
The 29-year-old hails from a family of eight- three girls and five boys. Growing up in a sports family, Mercy's first passion was football, as opposed to basketball.
“I think we were just born a sporting family, growing up we were known as the football family in the estate because we would head to the pitch immediately after class and only darkness would send us away,” she stated during a past media interview.
Due to her stark height (6 feet 1 inch), she played as a goalkeeper for Nairobi’s Muthurwa Country Bus Primary School.
She proceeded to Shiners Girls High School in Nakuru where she took up playing netball as per her mother's wishes.
After transferring to Lang'ata High School, the then principal Peter Orero, noticed her skills at a netball championship and persuaded her to switch to basketball.
“He walked straight to where I was and told me that basketball is where my future is and I should not waste my height, power and skills in netball,” she stated pointing out that Orero had previously coached her elder brothers during their time at Kamukunji High school.
Her first season at Lang'ata saw the team finish third in the national finals. Her impressive performance continued as she broke records in school tournaments. This saw her earn a four-year scholarship to play for the California Baptist University in USA.
The dream was, however, paused after rumours of suspicious attack within the country went viral which led to the US Embassy denying her a visa.
"I was crushed. I think I cried for weeks in my bed and couldn’t believe that someone thought I was a threat," she posed.
Her life-changing moment came when she got a chance to play for Avilés Basketball Sports Group in Spain- making history by becoming the first Kenyan to play in the Spanish Basketball League.
After playing for two seasons, she averaged 7.7 points per game in the 2019/20 season which led her to being poached by her current Spanish club El Cortegada.
