Chasing Medals – The Three Winners
By Dickson Jere
Africa’s biggest sports showpiece – All Africa Games – are underway in the Ghanaian Capital, Accra. The focus, once again in Zambia, is on our athletes and Sports Administrators. Will Team Zambia bring medals?
So far, three Zambian athletes – two Judokas and one swimmer – have minted medals. But let us take a look at these athletes and understand why they may have performed better.
1. Steven Mungandu – won first and only Gold medal thus far at the 2024 Games for Team Zambia. He is a 28 year old youngman with the ZNS sponsored Green Eagles Judo Club. He is currently on scholarship by the Olympic Solidarity and is based at the Dunavasany high-performance center in Budapest, Hungary. He is being trained in world class facilities as he prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Steven has won several regional tournaments and has been consistent with his performances.
2. Simon Zulu – won Bronze at the 2024 Games. He is 22 years old boy Judoka and is currently also training at the high performance center in Budapest, Hungary. He has won several junior tournaments including Gold medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games. He is also on a scholarship under the Olympic Solidarity.
3. Mia Phiri – is young swimmer nicknamed “pocket rocket” and minted the first medal for Zambia at the 2024 Games. She has consistently competed and won medals in number of events. She is based in the US at the University of North Carolina. She is also on Olympic Solidarity Scholarship. Mia has also a strong support system on her journey by by her parents who are renowned sports administrators too…
As you can see, all the three winners have something in common. They all have scholarships from Olympic Solidarity- courtesy of the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ). They are all training at high performance centers outside Zambia. This gives them confidence and ability to face any opponents in the world without hesitation. Good facilities play a major role in athletes preparedness for Games and eventual medal winning.
The next set of good results for Zambia are expected to come from boxing and athletics where some of the athletes are also beneficiaries of the Olympic Solidarity scholarships. These are Patrick Chinyemba, Steven Zimba and Margaret Tembo for boxing while Athletics are Muzala Simukonga, Rhoda Njovu and Niddy Minglishi.
So, in order for Zambia to bring more metals, there is need to invest heavily in sports infrastructure and training facilities. Money must be readily available for Games. Medals and good performance does not just happen. It is a deliberate investment in human capital and facilities.There is direct nexus between investment and achievements in sports. While we are four medals, South Africa has minted over twenty at the Ghana Games!
We need to get OYDC-Zambia back on tract by investing in rehabilitation. Thank you, once again, that NOCZ has managed to source for new mat for the main hall at OYDC, which will help with indoor sports.
Good luck to team Zambia!
GET MORE NEWS UPDATES
