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Muzala Samukonga

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Muzala Samukonga
Samukonga at the 2023 African Games
Personal information
NationalityZambian
Born (2002-12-09) 9 December 2002 (age 23)
Lusaka, Zambia
Sport
CountryZambia
SportTrack and field
Event
Sprints
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Zambia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2024 Paris400 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2022 Birmingham400 m
African Games
Gold medal – first place2023 Accra4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2023 Accra400 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Saint Pierre400 m
Silver medal – second place2022 Saint Pierre4×400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2024 Douala4×400 m relay

Muzala Samukonga (born 9 December 2002)[2] 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.[3] A flagbearer for Zambia at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Samukonga won the bronze medal in the 400 metres event.

Biography

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Samukonga competed in the 400 metres at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships in Kenya, where he finished in fifth place after with a time of 45.89 s.[4]

In March 2022, he recorded a new personal best in the event of 45.65 s in Botswana.[5] On 10 June, Samukonga won the gold medal in the 400 m at the 2022 African Championships in Mauritius, upsetting Bayapo Ndori in the final with a time of 45.31 s.[6][7] His victory ended a ten-year reign of athletes from Botswana in the event, namely Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe.[7][8] It also qualified him for the 2022 World Athletics Championships the following month in Eugene, Oregon.[9]

In September 2024, it was announced that he had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track.[10]

On 23 May 2026, Samukonga had a second place finish in 44.04 seconds at the 2026 Xiamen Diamond League.[11] On 14 July, he won the 400 m at the István Gyulai Memorial, in Budapest, in 44.02 seconds.[12] In July, he placed sixth in the final of the 400 metres at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[13]

Achievements

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All information taken from World Athletics profile.[2]

Personal bests

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EventTime (m:)sWind (m/s)PlaceDateNotes
200 metres20.23+1.7Miramar, United States2 May 2025
400 metres43.74N/aParis, France7 August 2024NR
4 × 400 m relay3:04.76N/aBirmingham, United Kingdom7 August 2022NR

Circuit performances

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Grand Slam Track results[14]
SlamRace groupEventPl.TimePrize money
2025 Kingston SlamLong sprints 400 m5th45.27US$12,500
200 m7th21.24
2025 Miami SlamLong sprints 200 m3rd20.23US$25,000
400 m4th44.56
2025 Philadelphia SlamLong sprints 400 m4th45.10US$20,000
200 m4th20.56

International championships results

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Representing  Zambia
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
2021 World U20 Championships Nairobi, Kenya 5th 400 m 45.89 PB
2022 African Championships Saint Pierre, Mauritius 1st 400 m 45.31
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:05.53
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 9th (sf) 400 m 45.02 PB
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st 400 m 44.66 NR
5th 4 × 400 m relay 3:04.76 NR
2024 African Games Accra, Ghana 2nd 400 m 45.37
1st 4 × 400 m relay 2:59.12
African Championships Douala, Cameroon 3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:02.56
Olympic Games Paris, France 3rd 400 m 43.74
8th 4 × 400 m relay 3:02.76
2025 World Championships Tokyo, Japan 9th (sf) 400 m 44.60
– 4 × 400 m relay DQ
2026 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 6th 400 m 45.61
World Ultimate Championship Budapest, Hungary 14th (h) 400 m 45.51

In addition, as of August 2024, Samukonga holds the track record for Gaborone where he clocked 43.91 seconds in April 2023.

References

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  1. ↑ "Olympic Track And Field Live Updates, Results: Aug. 6 - FloTrack". 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Muzala SAMUKONGA – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Matt Hudson-Smith misses out on gold as Muzala Samukonga stuns 400m favourite". The Independent. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "Race Analysis - 400 Metres Men - Final" (PDF). World Athletics. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Chatuvela, Elizabeth (24 May 2022). "Samukonga sprints to new personal time". Zambia Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Wachira, Lynne (10 June 2022). "African Athletics Championships: Tobi Amusan and Ferdinand Omanyala strike gold again". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. 1 2 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.
  8. ↑ Kaumba, Michael (11 June 2022). "Samukonga Is The New 400 Meters African Champion". ZNBC. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "400m Olympic Bronze Medalist Muzala Samukonga Signs With Grand Slam Track". Citius Mag. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Yan and Russell reign supreme in Xiamen with second-best marks in history". World Athletics. 23 May 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Tharp backs up world record form with 12.85 in Budapest". World Athletics. 14 July 2026. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "XXIII Commonwealth Games". World Athletics. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Grand Slam Track Results". Grand Slam Track. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
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