President Hichilema honours Commonwealth games champion, Muzala Samukonga

Commonwealth Games Champion, Muzala Samukonga, has been awarded with the President’s Insignia for meritorious achievement.

Samukonga was honoured by President, Hakainde Hichilema, during the Africa Freedom Day celebrations held at State House on Thursday.

The 20 -year-old shocked the world at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games when he won 400M gold with an electric finish to beat highly rated England’s Matt Hudson Smith.

He produced a personal best time of 44.66 seconds.

In March, this year, Samukonga produced another impressive performance in the men’s 400m final at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, producing a Personal Best (PB) and National Record (NR) of 43.91 seconds.

According to the World Athletics, he was officially the 2023 fastest man in the world to finish a 400 meters race in 43:91 seconds.

Barely a month after, he was a marvel to watch as he won the 400m Kip Keino classic continental tour with the time of 44.27 seconds in Nairobi ,Kenya.

Reacting to the developments, National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) president, Alfred Foloko, in an interview said it was encouraging to witness a young lad honoured at the Africa Freedom Day celebrations.

Foloko said Samukonga was a perfect example of an African breaking barriers at international level.

“Samukonga is riding on the foundation laid by our fore-fathers, they fought to break barriers. This is a kind of Africa they envisioned, to see an African rise the flag at the global stage. As the sports family, we are grateful to President Hichilema for motivating a youth,” he said.

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