Margrét Sturlaugsdóttir (born 1 July 1968) is an Icelandic

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former member of the Icelandic women's national basketball team.

Playing career

Club career

Margrét came up through the junior teams of

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

National team career

Margrét played 6 games for the Icelandic women's national basketball team. She won silver at the

1989 Games of the Small States of Europe 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and bronze at the 1991 Games.

Coaching career

Margrét was hired as an assistant coach to the women's national team in 2014. She helped Iceland finish second on the

2015 Games of the Small States of Europe The 2015 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XVI Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Iceland. The slogan was "Natural Power". Icelandic singer Paul Oscar sang during the opening ceremony. Host nation Iceland won ...

. In May 2015, Margrét was hired as the head coach of

in the Úrvalsdeild kvenna. In October 2015, Margrét stepped down from the coaching staff of the national team due to a rift between her and her former player with Keflavík and then national team player, Bryndís Guðmundsdóttir. In January 2016, with Keflavík in third place, the board terminated its contract with Margrét, stemming from a rift between her and two players, including key-player

Sandra Lind Þrastardóttir Sandra Lind Þrastardóttir (born 14 June 1996) is an Icelandic former basketball player and a former member of the Icelandic national basketball team. During her career, she won both the Icelandic and Danish championship along with the Icel ...

. On April 18, 2018, Margrét was hired as the head coach of Breiðablik, replacing

Hildur Sigurðardóttir Hildur Sigurðardóttir (born 15 October 1981) is an Icelandic basketball coach and player. She is the former head coach of Úrvalsdeild kvenna club Breiðablik and an assistant coach to the Icelandic women's national basketball team. As a pl ...

. On 14 November 2018, she resigned from her post for health reasons. On 21 July 2019, she became the first Icelandic woman to receive the

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations. ...

coaching certificate. On 21 August 2019, Margrét was hired as the head coach of Stjarnan women's youth teams. Prior to the 2020–21 season, Stjarnan fielded a women's senior team again with Margrét appointed as head coach. In October 2020, she was criticized for taking the team on a training trip to

Hrútafjörður Hrútafjörður () is a fjord in the north-west of Iceland. It is around 36 km long and lies to the south of Húnaflói (, ) is a bay of the Iceland Sea in Northwestern Region (Iceland), Northwestern Region and Westfjords, Iceland. It is ...

when all practices and games where barred in the capital region due to another Covid-19 outbreak in Iceland. In April 2021, she was replaced as head coach by

Pálína Gunnlaugsdóttir Pálína María Gunnlaugsdóttir (born 2 January 1987) is an Icelandic sport TV host, basketball coach and a former player. She is currently a host for Stöð 2 Sport's '' Domino's Körfuboltakvöld'' (English: Domino's Basketball Night). Durin ...

Personal life

Margrét is married to former Icelandic international basketball player,

Falur Harðarson Falur Jóhann Harðarson (born 15 October 1968) is an Icelandic basketball coach and a former player. He spent most of his career with Keflavík where he won five national championships, the last one as a player-coach, and 3 national cups. A f ...

. They have four daughters, Lovísa Falsdóttir, Elfa Falsdóttir, Urður Falsdóttir and

Jana Falsdóttir Jana Falsdóttir (29 November 2005) is an Icelandic basketball player who plays for California State University, Fullerton, and for the Iceland national team. Playing career Jana played junior basketball with Keflavík. She started her senior t ...

. In 2017, Margrét was diagnosed with cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturlaugsdottir, Margret 1968 births Living people Margret Sturlaugsdottir Margret Sturlaugsdottir Margret Sturlaugsdottir Margret Sturlaugsdottir Margret Sturlaugsdottir Margret Sturlaugsdottir Margret Sturlaugsdottir Guards (basketball) Margret Sturlaugsdottir