By Mubukwanu Kaingu
After a brief rest and dealing with an industrial relations matter involving Team Zambia, Olympic 400-meter bronze medal winner Muzala Samukonga returns to the track on Thursday evening in Switzerland as the Diamond League resumes at the end of Paris 2024.
The buildup to Thursday has been overshadowed by Samukonga leading Team Zambia in demanding their Olympic dues owed to them by Government that by press time had yet to be paid to them.
But the Commonwealth champion and Africa Silver medalist now returns to his job of racing until the end of the month.
Samukonga, who set a national record of 43.73, will feature in Laussane together with his two podium finishers from the Paris Olympics.
He will join Britain’s Matthew Hudson Smith who won silver and Quincy Hall of the USA who took gold with a time of 43.40 at tomorrow’s restart of Diamond League.
Simukonda and the duo will be part of the 8-man field that will include two members of Botswana 4X400 meters relay silver medal winning team namely Bayapo Ndori and Buseng Kebinatship.
The five will headline an overall eight-man field in the Laussane Diamond League race that starts at 20h05.
Tonight’s race will also be the first of three Diamond League meets Simukonda will race in Belgium at the three-day Memorial Van Damme in Brussels from August 13-15.
After Thursday’s race, Samukonga will head to Poland for the Crocow meet on August 25.
Thereafter, Samukonga will be in Rome on August 30.
