Athletics great Samuel Matete has hailed sprinter Muzala Samukonga for winning a gold medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in England.
Samukonga on Sunday won a gold medal after emerging number one in the 400m category.
Matete has Radio Icengelo Sports on the Copperbelt that he was proud of Samukonga’s success in Birmingham.
He said the young runner must aim at winning more medals on the international front.
“Congratulations to Muzala Samukonga for his outstanding performance in the 400m during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. We are very proud of Samukonga’s achievement, in particular that this has finally come after 28 years of near absence,” Matete said.
Matete himself represented Zambia at four Olympic Games where he
run in the 400 meters hurdles and won a gold medal at the 1991 World Championships and 1993 Commonwealth Games.
He was also 400 meters hurdles African champion in 1998.
“The last gold medal we won in track and field history of our Commonwealth Games was in 1993 in Victoria, Canada where I ran the 400m hurdles and won a gold medal. So, on this achievement that has come through Samukonga it is timely and all of us in Zambia are very proud of this young man,” Matete said.
“Samukonga must now look forward to more achievements in the coming years. We have the African games coming up next year, we also have another world championship coming and many other competitions that we are going to expect Samukonga to excel in. This should not be the last but the beginning of the challenges ahead which are expecting Samukonga to participate and achieve more. Let me stay calm, stay focused knowing that you have much more to come,” he said.
Samukonga won a gold medal at the 2022 African Championships at the age of 19.
