Touch the sky
2009-03-26
Jaco van Wyk
HIS friends call him “touch the sky”, which is not surprising when you first come face to face with the tall learner of Desmond Tutu High, Luvo Manyonga. Luvo’s name actually makes even more sense when one considers the way Luvo has burst onto the athletics scene for the Boland Athletics team this year. At age 18, Luvo’s 15,55m record in the triple jump for boys 19 deservedly earned him the Paarl Post and SuperSport Let’s Play Sport Star of the Month award for the month of March. And to think everything only started a couple of months ago. At the beginning of the 2009 athletics season Luvo decided to try his luck in the long jump and triple jump athletics items. “Because of my height and long legs, my father told me to try a sport where I can use my length to my advantage - something in the line of jumping. “Last year I decided to try high jump, but I didn't like it,” says Luvo. “This year I tried my luck in long and triple jump, and the rest is history.” Luvo arrived at the Boland Youth and High Schools Championships at the Coetzenburg Stadium as a beginner in the triple jump item, and decided to give it his all. Against all expectations, Luvo not only managed to out-jump all the other seasoned athletes, but also managed to break the 11-year-old triple jump record with a distance of 15,45m. The previous record was 14,84m. Luvo’s record did not stand for long though. After he took the advice of his seniors and approached a professional coach in the form of Marius Smith of Maties Athletics Club, to assist him in developing his incredible talent, Luvo shattered his own record at the Boland Championships, managing a distance of 15,54m. At the Yellow Pages SA Senior Track and Field Championships, held at Coetzenburg Stadium, the boys 19 triple jump record was once again broken when Luvo jumped an incredible 15,55m. For Luvo however, the Yellow Pages Championships was a lot more than just another event, seeing that he came face to face with his role model in the long jump item, Khotso Mokoena - winner of a silver medal at the Olympic Games last year. “It was frightening to come up against a great athlete like Mokoena. The first thing I thought was that this guy was going to beat me. Mokoena, however, encouraged me more than anything else and told me to keep it up. “He told me to keep on practising, while he also complimented me on the good start I have made on the athletics scene.” Like any athlete, Luvo dreams of one day competing at the Olympic Games, where he would love to compete for his country. “I would also love to be on television,” says Luvo. “My message for young athletes who want to follow their dreams, is to go to school, don't do drugs and practise each and every day of the week.”
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