Muzala Samukonga
Muzala Samukonga is a Zambian track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. In 2022, at the age of 19, he won gold medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]. A 2024 [Summer Olympics Parade of Nations|flagbearer] for Zambia at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Samukonga won the bronze medal in the Athletics at the [2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400 metres] event.
Career
Samukonga competed in the 2021 [World Athletics U20 Championships – Men's 400 metres|400 metres] at the 2021 [World Athletics U20 Championships|2021 World Under-20 Championships] in Kenya, where he finished in fifth place after with a time of 45.89 s.In March 2022, he recorded a new personal best in the event of 45.65 s in Botswana. On 10 June, Samukonga won the gold medal in the 2022 [African Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres|400 m] at the 2022 African Championships in Mauritius, upsetting Bayapo Ndori in the final with a time of 45.31 s. His victory ended a ten-year reign of athletes from Botswana in the event, namely Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe. It also qualified him for the 2022 World Athletics Championships the following month in Eugene, Oregon.
In September 2024, it was announced that he had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track.