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Inspired by Usain Bolt, Muzala Samukonga discovered his athletic talent at a very young age and is slowly making a name for himself in the world of athletics.
Zambian 400m star Muzala Samukonga has disclosed how watching Usain Bolt motivated his dream to make it as an athlete.
Muzala Samukonga noted that he discovered his running talent when he was very young and it was actually his teacher who observed that he could run. At the time, he learnt about the 100m and 200m world record holder Usain Bolt and he wanted to be just like the legendary Jamaican runner.
The Olympic 400m bronze medallist revealed that at the time, he was running the 100m and 200m before switching to the 400m. In 2008, Muzala Samukonga revealed that he joined the 400m club and that’s when he started taking athletics seriously. Around that time, he also met coach Douglas Kalembo who has been very vital in shaping his career.
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12:32 - 22.10.2024
'He was in a difficult situation'- Muzala Samukonga's coach opens about first meeting with Olympic bronze medallist
Zambia's athletics coach Douglas Kalembo revealed how he helped Muzala Samukonga overcome a difficult situation, acting as a parent figure, to ultimately secure a bronze medal in the 400m at the Paris Olympic Games.
“I discovered my talent in grade four through physical education. A teacher said to me, ‘Muzala, you can run.’ That’s how I started participating. Then I learned about Usain Bolt and I told myself, 'One day, I’ll be like Bolt.' Back then, I was running the 100m and 200m. Eventually, I joined Zambia Athletics in 2018 as a 400m runner,” Muzala Samukonga said as per Citius Mag.
“Coach DK discovered me and said, ‘This boy can run,’ and he started taking care of me. I qualified for the World Junior Championship in Kenya and reached the finals. That’s when he really believed that, ‘This guy can run!’ He started investing in me.”
Speaking at the same time, his coach explained that they never expected to win a bronze medal on the Olympic stage since their main aim was to just get to the final of the event.
The tactician noted that for an athlete to get to the level of stars like Michael Johnson, it takes a lot of effort and his coach was intending to have him win a medal at the LA 2028 Olympic Games and not in Paris.
“I’ve always told him it takes ten years to develop someone to world-class level. Scientifically, you need that time to become like MJ. But I told him that I wanted him to break that cycle and help him become a world champion without that ten-year wait,” he said.
“I said, ‘Commitment, that’s number one, and communication — what I call the five C’s: commitment, concentration, communication, concentration, all those give C’s.’ I told him, ‘These are the keys to becoming a world or Olympic champion.’
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“It surprised me that we achieved a bronze medal at this stage. Our first goal was to reach the finals and then aim for a medal in the next Olympics. We defied science. I told him, ‘Commitment in training, trust the process, and that’s it.’ He follows those things, which makes my job easier because we communicate and are able to come up with magic.”
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