By Mercy Chewe
Former athletics world champion Samuel Matete is set to return to the Olympic Games in Tokyo but this time around as a coach.
As a runner, Matete represented Zambia at the Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 1996.
The icon is next week scheduled to travel to Tokyo for the delayed Olympics after being appointed to the technical bench that is coaching runners preparing for the games.
The National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) has appointed Matete to be part of the athletics coaches preparing runners Sydney Siame and Rhoda Njobvu.
“This is a morale booster for all of us including the athletes,” Matete said.
“This is an opportunity that I have looked forward to helping to develop athletes,” he said.
Matete previously served on the NOCZ Technical Commission.
Matete made his name by winning a gold medal at the 1991 World Championships and gold at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
He later won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
