Long jumper aiming to take it easy
Bout of flu means silver medallist will ‘have fun’ at SA Champs
PORT Elizabeth long jump specialist Luvo Manyonga, who has returned with a silver medal from the IAAF World Indoor Championship in Birmingham, England, will take things easy at the Athletics South Africa National Championships next week.
The three-day event will take place in Pretoria next week and runs from Wednesday to Saturday.
Manyongo took the Sports Star of the Year trophy at the South African Sport Awards last year, and won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
He returned from England with a slight fever, but said it had not
interfered with his preparation for the SA Champs. “I am treating the flu right now, but I am also training,” he said.
“Preparations have been going very well so far.
“My plan for the SA Champs is just to go there and have fun.”
Speaking of his recent achievement in Birmingham, the long jumper said the competition was the highlight of his career so far.
Manyonga, 27, who lives in Westering, was the best South African team performer on day two of the event, securing the silver medal with a best leap of 8.44m.
This added 4cm to his own African record – and fell just 2cm short of Cuban gold medallist Juan Miguel Echevarria’s jump.
It was South Africa’s first medal at the biennial indoor championships since 2010.
“It was my first indoor competition and I did only three indoor events,” Manyongo said.
“The World Indoor Champs were great and even the competition itself was on fire.
“That was one of my highlights since I started doing long jump.”
After Manyongo clinched the silver medal, ASA president Aleck Skhosana congratulated him on his achievement.
However Manyongo said: “I don’t have much to say, because there were no words coming from him to us athletes [sending] good luck or congratulations personally to me, the person who received the medal.
“I have not received any messages from him.”