Teenage sprinter Ruth Mutale is aiming high after scooping three gold medals at the recent African Union Sports Council Youth Games in Maseru, Lesotho.
The 17-year-old won gold in 100 meters, 200 meters and 4X400 meters relay in the Women’s Under-18 categories.
The young runner has been nurtured by former World 400m hurdles champion Samuel Matete at his Kitwe academy.
Speaking on arrival from Lesotho, Mutale said she went to Lesotho to gain exposure and was glad to win medals.
“I just feel happy. I am excited to have been part of the national team that went to Lesotho,” she said.
“I didn’t expect myself to win medals but I just went there to have good exposure but it turned out that I won medals, which is a good thing. I am still learning how to compete,” Mutale told Radio Icengelo in Kitwe.
Mutale said she targets to qualify for the next Africa Junior Championship.
“I am expecting to train well and qualify for the Junior African Championship and the African Senior Championship,” Mutale said.
“In the next five years, I would like to see myself on top of the Zambian athletes and to be one of the top ten world class runners.”
“I would also like to see myself competing at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the Diamond League,” she said.
Mutale has just finished senior secondary school education.
Well done Mutale !Well done Matete! I hope this is a turn of the corner for Zambian athletics. The country is full of citizens who dont know how it feels to see a graceful athlete hoisting the Zambian flag after winning the world championship to a n applauding stadium. Some of us miss Matete so much we often wonder why he is so under-utilised