Luvo’s leap of gold, record & history

Long jumper soars to gold while Samaai grabs the bronze

in Gold Coast

Luvo Manyonga delivered when it mattered most in the Gold Coast yesterday – under pressure and staring the spectre of defeat str aight in the face.

The long jump title was supposed to be his for the taking‚ but when Australian Henry Frayne soared to 8.33m to take the lead in the second round‚ it looked like the script had been tailor-made for the partisan fans at Carrara Stadium.

This was a gold mine for the Aussies yesterday‚ winning several events‚ including the women’s javelin and the men’s F38 shot put‚ where Sunette Viljoen and Reinhardt Hamman took bronze behind two Australians.

World champion Manyonga and world championship bronze medallist Ruswahl Samaai were SA’s last hopes to get a gold on the day‚ and there was an Aussie standing in the way. Frayne scored the first real blow to push Manyonga into second and Samaai third. But like a felled boxer‚ Manyonga rose with purpose in his heart and he struck back in the fourth round‚ leaping to in the qualifying round the day before.

Frayne could only say: “He’s a true champion and he responded like one.”

Samaai didn’t record a single no-jump‚ and he cleared 8m four times‚ with 8.22m on his second leap bagging the bronze‚ SA’s third on the day. That’s the same colour he took four years ago.

“I’m not happy. I came here with a lot of expectation.

“I got a bronze in Glasgow and I wanted to upgrade to silver or gold,” Samaai said. Team SA’s five medals on the day – one gold‚ one silver and three bronze – lifted the team to fourth on the medals table‚ above New Zealand‚ Canada and Scotland.