South African athlete
Godfrey Khotso Mokoena
Born (1985-03-06 ) 6 March 1985 (age 39) Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Weight 73 kg (161 lb) Country South Africa Sport Athletics Event Long jump Updated on 15 August 2012
Godfrey Khotso Mokoena OIB (born 6 March 1985 in Heidelberg , South Africa ) is a South African athlete who specializes in the long jump and triple jump .
Early life and family
He started his school education at Shalimar Ridge Primary School in Heidelberg , Gauteng . He excelled at gymnastics at a very early age.
He matriculated at Nigel High School, Nigel. His talent at long jump was discovered by Elna de Beer.[ 1] He started to compete in athletics at the age of 13.[ 2]
Career
Originally competing in the triple jump, winning the World Junior title in 2004 (he also came second in the long jump) and the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games , he switched to long jump in 2007 after an ankle injury.[ 1] [ 2] It was a very successful transition. In 2008, he won the long jump at the world indoor championships and silver at the Olympic games .
In July 2009, he set a new African record in long jump, 8.50m in Madrid in an IAAF Super Grand Prix meeting where he finished second behind Fabrice Lapierre . The previous African record, 8.46, was held by Cheikh Toure of Senegal and set in 1997.[ 3]
For the 2014 Commonwealth Games , he switched back to the triple jump, winning the gold medal.[ 2]
Achievements
Year
Competition
Venue
Position
Event
Notes
Representing South Africa
2001
World Youth Championships
Debrecen , Hungary
5th
High jump
2.10 m
2002
World Junior Championships
Kingston , Jamaica
12th
Long jump
7.08 m (-0.7 m/s)
2003
All-Africa Games
Abuja , Nigeria
3rd
Long jump
7.83 m
2nd
Triple jump
16.28 m
Afro-Asian Games
Hyderabad, India
3rd
Long jump
7.76 m
3rd
Triple jump
15.92 m
2004
World Junior Championships
Grosseto , Italy
2nd
Long jump
8.09 m (+0.7 m/s)
1st
Triple jump
16.77 m (-0.3 m/s)
2006
World Indoor Championships
Moscow , Russia
5th
Long jump
8.01 m
Commonwealth Games
Melbourne , Australia
4th
Long jump
8.04 m
2nd
Triple jump
16.95 m
African Championships
Bambous , Mauritius
2nd
Long jump
8.45 m w
2nd
Triple jump
16.67 m w
2007
All-Africa Games
Algiers , Algeria
3rd
Long jump
7.99 m
World Championships
Osaka , Japan
5th
Long jump
8.19 m
World Athletics Final
Stuttgart , Germany
3rd
Long jump
8.12 m
2008
World Indoor Championships
Valencia , Spain
1st
Long jump
8.08 m
Olympic Games
Beijing , China
2nd
Long jump
8.24 m
2009
World Championships
Berlin, Germany
2nd
Long jump
8.47 m
World Athletics Final
Thessaloniki , Greece
3rd
Long jump
8.17 m
2010
World Indoor Championships
Doha , Qatar
2nd
Long jump
8.08 m
African Championships
Nairobi , Kenya
1st
Long jump
8.23 m
2014
Commonwealth Games
Glasgow , Scotland
1st
Triple jump
17.20 m
African Championships
Marrakech , Morocco
2nd
Long jump
8.02 m
1st
Triple jump
17.03 m
2015
World Championships
Beijing, China
13th (q)
Long jump
7.98 m
9th
Triple jump
16.81 m
2016
African Championships
Durban, South Africa
3rd
Triple jump
16.77 m
Olympic Games
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
21st (q)
Triple jump
16.51 m
2018
World Indoor Championships
Birmingham, United Kingdom
14th
Long jump
7.53 m
African Championships
Asaba, Nigeria
2nd
Triple jump
16.83 m
Personal bests
Long jump – 8.50 m (2009)[ 4]
Triple jump – 17.35 m (2005) NR [ 4]
High jump – 2.10 m (2001)
Family response
Phakiso Mokoena, father of Godfrey, was quoted in a local newspaper "Godfrey initially found it difficult to qualify for the Olympics, but has through hard work endured and finished second in the world."
References
External links