Samuel Matete (born 27 July 1968 in

Chingola Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 216,626 (2010 census). It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequent ...

) is a retired male

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 eve ...

athlete from

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

, who competed mainly in

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

Career

Noted for his exceptionally fast finish, he was one of the world's leading hurdlers in the early to mid-1990s, and became the first Zambian track and field world champion in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. This was the first time that an African athlete had won that event. He represented Zambia in the 400 m hurdles on four occasions (1988 to 2000) and was the silver medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. His personal best of 47.10 seconds, achieved during the

Weltklasse Zürich Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF ...

in 1991, is the current African record and ranks ninth on the all-time list.400 Metres Hurdles All Time
IAAF (2011-09-09). Retrieved on 2012-04-25.

Competition record

Personal bests

- 47.10 seconds (1991) * 400 metres - 44.88 seconds (1991) *

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 ...

- 21.04 seconds (1989) *

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

- 10.77 seconds (1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matete, Samuel 1968 births Living people People from Chingola Zambian male hurdlers Olympic male hurdlers Olympic athletes of Zambia Olympic silver medalists for Zambia Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Zambia Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Zambia World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Japan Championships in Athletics winners Auburn Tigers men's track and field athletes