His talent had not dimmed and he cleared a world-leading and personal best distance of 8.30 m (27 ft Manyonga continued a great run of form by winning the gold medal at the VIEW PROFILE Report 25.9k Followers, 3,925 Following, 273 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Luvo Manyonga (@luvomanyonga)
Report 11 APR 2018 Luvo Manyonga (born 8 January 1991) is a South African track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump.He won the 2017 World Championship in London and the 2018 Commonwealth Games title in the Gold Coast, Australia.He was the Olympic silver medallist in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.. Manyonga was world junior champion in 2010, and the African Games champion in 2011. 18 AUG 2018 “I wasn’t going to settle for the silver medal; I have been battling a bit with my left knee, but I put it right out of my mind to get through to the win,” Manyonga said at the time.Back home he would receive a hero’s welcome, which included a parade through Mbekweni.His star would continue to rise the next year, as he leapt to a new personal best of 8.26m, earning a place at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu in 2011, where he would place fifth.He crowned the 2011 season winning the All Africa Games title in Maputo, Mozambique, with a best leap of 8.02m.Manyonga first experimented with the highly addictive methamphetamine that same year, but would only realise the error of his way in 2012.One qualifying jump away from Olympic qualification, Manyonga tested positive for the recreational drug at the national championships series, copping an 18-month ban.The addiction would send the talented athlete into a downward spiral, while he would also suffer further personal setbacks.Nine months after he had served his ban, Manyonga suffered another setback following the death of his long-time coach in a car accident in June 2014.After a few near-death experiences facing gangsters, and feeling the effects of the drugs, Manyonga was given a second chance at life and his career when he was moved to a more conducive environment.Former South Africa Olympic swimming gold medallist Ryk Neethling took a keen interest in helping the athlete along the way, and Manyonga was eventually placed at the University of Pretoria. Read more. “The first qualifying jump showed me there was more in me and the season would look good if I continue to do as well as I did in training,” Manyonga said.Manyonga grew up in Mbekweni, a poor community outside Paarl in South Africa’s Western Cape, with a history of drugs and gang-related violence.His father, John worked as a fork-lift driver and mother, Joyce was a domestic cleaner trying to sustain Manyonga and his two siblings.The lanky Manyonga showed an interest in the sport from an early age, racing the 100m and 200m at primary school, but took up jumping thanks to the encouragement of one of his teachers Monelisi Adonis. IAAF Inside Athletics – Luvo Manyonga Luvo Manyonga was crowned long jump world champion in 2017. “I went through rehab before and learned how to get over that thing and you need to accept that you are powerless and then get away from it,” Manyonga said. The Rio Olympic Games silver medallist won the Shanghai Diamond League meeting with a best leap of 8.61m.The South African then landed three centimetres short of his South African record at the FBK Games in Hengelo with a winning jump of 8.62m after opening with an 8.60m.Long Jump: 2009- 7.65, 2010- 8.19 AJR, 2011- 8.26; 2012- -; 2013- 7.70; 2014- 7.23; 2015- -; 2016-8.48; 2017- 8.65m AR2009 3rd South African Championships (Stellenbosch) (Long Jump) 7.28w 2009 2nd South African Championships (Stellenbosch) (Triple Jump) 15.55 2009 2nd South African Junior Championships (Pretoria) (Long Jump) 7.04A 2009 2nd South African Junior Championships (Pretoria) (Triple Jump) 15.35A 2009 3rd African Junior Championships (Bambous) (Long Jump) 7.94 2010 5th South African Championships (Durban) (Triple Jump) 15.40 2010 1st South African Junior Championships (Germinston) (Long Jump) 8.05A 2010 2nd South African Junior Championships (Germinston) (Triple Jump) 15.71A 2010 1st World Junior Championships (Moncton) (Long Jump) 7.99 2011 1st South African U23 Championships (Germinston) (Long Jump) 8.07A 2011 2nd South African Championships (Durban) (Long Jump) 7.94w 2011 5th World Championships (Daegu) (Long Jump) 8.21 2011 1st All-Africa Games (Maputo) (Long Jump) 8.02 2016 2nd Africa Championships (Durban) (Long Jump) 8.23w 2016 2nd Rio Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro) (Long Jump) 8.372017 1st South African Championships (Potchefstroom) (Long Jump) 8.65A