Kenneth Dzekedzeke | |
Nationality: | Malawian |
Sport: | Middle-distance running |
Event: | 800 metres |
Birth Date: | 1 April 1969 |
Height: | 185cm[1] |
Kenneth Dzekedzeke (born 1 April 1969) is a Malawian middle-distance runner. He competed in the men's 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[2]
Dzekedzeke initially started out as a trainer for his sister Mandaliza, a cross country competitor, before taking up competitive athletics himself in 1986.[3] After competing in school 400m and 800m events he gained the attention of British athletics coach Frank Gallagher, who helped develop him into a national and international-level athlete.[3]
He won silver at the Independence Celebration Games in Mozambique in 1987 and the same year set the Malawian 800m record at the All-Africa Games with a time of 1 minute 49; the record still stood as of 2012.[3]
Dzekedzeke placed sixth in the third heat at the 800m event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics; only the top three in each heat qualified. He went on to compete at the 1990 Commonwealth Games 800m heats and the 1991 All-Africa Games.[3]
Following these competitions Dzekedzeke won a scholarship to study a diploma in athletics coaching at the University of Mainz. He returned from Germany in 1993 and spent the next decade training Malawian athletes including Catherine Chikwakwa and Francis Munthali.[3] He has also served as an executive member of the Malawi Olympic Committee and as head coach for Malawian athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[3]