By Mubukwanu Kaingu
Paris 2024 bronze medal winner Muzala Samukonga says it was a privilege for his team to fly the flag in the 4X400 meters relay final despite failing to make a podium finish.
Zambia finished second last in 8th place in Saturday’s 4X400 meters final in Paris on the penultimate day of the 2024 Olympics.
It was the first time that Zambia had qualified for the men’s 4X400 relay final and it came four days after Samukonga clinched a bronze in the 400 meters final.
Samukonga said in a post on his X account that the future looks very bright for Zambian athletics in the post-Paris 2024 era.
“I couldn’t be proud of each and every one of you, our performance in the men’s 4X400m relay final at the Paris Olympics is a shining example of the fighting spirit that defines us,” Samukonga said.
“Although we may not have stood on the podium, we have shown the world what we are capable of. We have battled, we have pushed and we’ve given it our all and that’s what true champions are made of.
“Let’s hold our heads high team and know that we’ve made our country proud for reaching this far, results might not be as expected but we will learn from this, we’ll grow and we’ll come back stronger. The future is bright. “
Samukonga was the only athlete from team Zambia to leave Paris with a medal after compatriots in women’s boxing, judo and swimming all made preliminary-stage exits.
Boxer Patrick Chinyemba missed out on the medal bracket when he made a quarterfinal exit in the 51kg category.
Meanwhile, Samukonga is the third Zambian athlete to win an Olympic medal.
But it took 28 years after Samuel Matete’s silver at Atlanta 1996, and before him, flyweight boxer Keith Mwila won Zambia’s debut Olympic medal with a bronze at Los Angeles 1984.
