Muzala Samukonga

Muzala Samukonga (born 9 December 2002) is a Zambian track and field sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. He won a gold medal at the 2022 African Championships at the age of 19. He also won a gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, finishing in 44.66 seconds in the 400 metre race.[1]

Muzala Samukonga
Personal information
NationalityZambian
Born (2002-12-09) 9 December 2002
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Sprints
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Zambia
Commonwealth Games
2022 Birmingham400 m
African Championships
2022 Mauritius400 m
2022 Mauritius4 × 400 m relay

Career

Samukonga competed in the 400 m event at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Kenya, where he finished in fifth place after clocking 45.89 s.[2] He recorded a new personal best of 45.65 s in Botswana in March 2022.[3]

On 10 June 2022, Samukonga won a gold medal in the 400 m event at the 2022 African Championships in Mauritius, upsetting Bayapo Ndori in the finals with a time of 45.31 s.[4][5] His victory ended a ten-year reign in the 400 m by athletes from Botswana, namely Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe.[5][6] It also qualified him for the 2022 World Athletics Championships the following month in Eugene, Oregon.[7]

Achievements

Personal bests

All information taken from World Athletics profile.[8]

Type Event Time Date Place Notes
Outdoor
200 metres21.8411 April 2021Lusaka, Zambia-2.9 m/s (wind)
400 metres44.667 August 2022Birmingham, EnglandNR
4 × 400 m relay3:05.2516 May 2021Lusaka, ZambiaNR

International championships results
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Zambia
2021 World U20 Championships Nairobi, Kenya 5th 400 m 45.89
2022 African Championships Saint Pierre, Mauritius 1st 400 m 45.31
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:05.53
World Championships Eugene, United States 9th (sf) 400 m 45.02

References
  1. "Matt Hudson-Smith misses out on gold as Muzala Samukonga stuns 400m favourite". The Independent. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  2. "Race Analysis - 400 Metres Men - Final" (PDF). World Athletics. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  3. Chatuvela, Elizabeth (24 May 2022). "Samukonga sprints to new personal time". Zambia Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  4. Wachira, Lynne (10 June 2022). "African Athletics Championships: Tobi Amusan and Ferdinand Omanyala strike gold again". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  5. Demba, Varore (10 June 2022). "Championnat d'Afrique athlétisme-400m : A 19 ans, Muzala Samukonga met fin à 10 ans de règne botswanais". Sport News Africa (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  6. Kaumba, Michael (11 June 2022). "Samukonga Is The New 400 Meters African Champion". ZNBC. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. "Samukonga qualifies to World Athletics Championship to be held in Oregon USA next month, July 15-24, 2022". The Zambian Observer. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. Muzala Samukonga at World Athletics
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.