Saviour Kombe (born 3 August 1991) is a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

er who specialises in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. His personal best for the distance is 45.27 seconds. He is a joint holder of the Zambian record in the 4×100 metres relay and

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. He has represented his nation twice at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

(2010 and 2014) and also at the

2011 All-Africa Games The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent. Host awarding In April 2005, Lusaka, Zambia was named t ...

. He placed fourth in the 400 m at the

2014 African Championships in Athletics The 2014 African Championships in Athletics was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 10 to 14 August 2014. The competition was the 19th edition of Africa senior championships. The competition served as preparation to African athletes for the next conti ...

. He won his first international medal at the

2014 IAAF Continental Cup The 2014 IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event that was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 13–14 September 2014. It was the second edition of the IAAF Continental Cup since the name and format was changed from t ...

, winning the relay gold medals for Africa.

Career

Born in Chingola, he began taking part in sprinting in 2005 and was inspired by the achievements of

Samuel Matete Samuel Matete (born 27 July 1968 in Chingola) is a retired male track and field athlete from Zambia, who competed mainly in 400 metres hurdles. Career Noted for his exceptionally fast finish, he was one of the world's leading hurdlers in the earl ...

, Zambia's first athletics world champion and also a Chingola native. Kombe had his first success as a teenager in winning two gold medals at the Southern African Development Community's SADC Games.Saviour Kombe
Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2014-09-15. After a third place at the South African Regional Championships, he was set to compete at the

2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics were the fifth edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. They were held on 11–15 July 2007 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Results Boys Girls Medals table See also ...

, but ultimately did not compete.Saviour Kombe
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-09-15. In 2008 he repeated his third-place finish at the regional event. By his late teens he had establish himself among the nation's top sprinters and represented Zambia in three events at the

2010 African Championships in Athletics The 2010 African Championships in Athletics was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 28 July to 1 August 2010. Background The African Championships in Athletics were held in Kenya for the first time. Previously two major athletics events have been held i ...

. He ran in the heats of the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, reached the semi-finals of the

and helped set a Zambian record of 40.94 seconds in the 4×100 metres relay – an event in which Zambia placed seventh in the final. He was chosen for the 400 m alone at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

and managed to set a personal best and national junior record of 46.88 seconds in the heats to progress to the semi-finals.Saviour Kombe
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-09-15. The following year he competed at the

and was again a semi-finalist. At the

2012 African Championships in Athletics The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participatin ...

he competed in the 400 m only and despite opening with a personal best of 46.49 seconds he came fifth in his semi-final and did not reach the final round. He competed sparingly in 2013 but re-emerged in 2014 as an improved sprinter. He ran 400 m in under 46 seconds for the first time in July 2014: competing at altitude at Résisprint in

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

, he placed third in 45.48 seconds in a race where Botswana

Isaac Makwala Isaac Makwala (born 24 September 1985) is a Botswana sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Career He was the gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. He has also won continental titles at the distance, winning at the 2015 A ...

broke the African record. He was unable to repeat this form at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, being eliminated in the semi-finals. However, he helped the Zambian team break the

national record with a run of 3:07.43 minutes in the heats before finishing eighth in the final. A fast final at the

saw Kombe improve further to 45.27 seconds. This brought him fourth place while Makwala set a championship record over a second ahead. The finish earned him a place on the relay team for Africa at the

, an event in which the Africans (Makwala, Kombe,

Boniface Mucheru Boniface Mucheru Tumuti (born 2 May 1992) is a Kenyan sprinter and hurdler. He competed in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2012 and 2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turk ...

and Wayde Van Niekerk) were victorious.Mulkeen, Jon (2014-09-14)
Europe victorious at IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-09-15.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kombe, Saviour Living people 1991 births Zambian male sprinters People from Chingola Commonwealth Games competitors for Zambia Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games IAAF Continental Cup winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games African Games competitors for Zambia