Zambia's Barbra Banda sets Olympic record with hat-trick against Australia
The Orlando Pride striker wrote her name in the history books in her country’s 6-5 defeat to Australia in Sunday’s Group B fixture inside Stade de Nice.
Having lost 3-0 to the United States in their opening game, Zambia faced the Aussies with the ambition of returning to winning ways.
Incidentally, that encounter presented Banda with an opportunity to etch her name among the pantheon of football greats.
In the 11-goal thriller, she opened scoring in the first minute after beating goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold with a cool finish before adding to her tally in the 33rd and 45th minute respectively.
With that, she becomes Africa’s all-time top scorer in the tournament with nine goals, five shy of Cristiane Rozeira's record of 14.
Notwithstanding her heroics, Bruce Mwape’s Copper Queens ended up on the losing side and they must now secure a convincing win over Germany in their last group fixture to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout phase.
Prior to the Paris Olympics, the Lusaka-born star expressed her burning desire to break more records.
“Teamwork helped me score all those goals. Those two hat-tricks are all about the team. I was never going to do that on my own. But I don't want to look on the past. I want to look forward and focus maybe on creating other records,” she told the FIFA website.
“You know, football is a game of chances. So, if I have the opportunity to have another record, then I definitely have to utilise that opportunity wisely.
"I'm so excited and happy to be at my second Olympics. It's every person's dream to play at that level. To represent my country makes me happy.”
Regarded as one of Africa’s greatest women footballers, Banda is not new to setting records. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, she became the first player - man or woman - to score three goals in back-to-back games.
At the 2023 Women's World Cup, she engraved her name in history by netting the 1,000th goal in the tournament's illustrious history, to solidify her status as a trailblazer in women's football.
In 2018, Banda became the first Zambian player to join a European club when she signed for Spanish team Logrono.
