Godfrey Khotso Mokoena

Godfrey Khotso Mokoena

Mokoena at the 2009 Lappeenranta Games
Personal information
Born (1985-03-06) March 6, 1985
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Country  South Africa
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Long jump
Medal record
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Long jump
World Championships
2009 Berlin Long jump
World Indoor Championships
2008 Valencia Long jump
2010 Doha Long jump
World Athletics Final
2007 Stuttgart Long Jump
2009 Thessaloniki Long Jump
African Championships
2010 Nairobi Long Jump
2014 Marrakech Triple Jump
2006 Bambous Long Jump
2006 Bambous Triple Jump
2014 Marrakech Long Jump
2016 Durban Triple jump
Commonwealth Games
2014 Glasgow Triple Jump
2006 Melbourne Triple Jump
All-Africa Games
2003 Abuja Triple Jump
2003 Abuja Long Jump
2007 Algiers Long Jump
Afro-Asian Games
2003 Hyderabad Long Jump
2003 Hyderabad Triple Jump
World Junior Championships
2004 Grosseto Triple Jump
2004 Grosseto Long Jump
Updated on 15 August 2012.

Godfrey Khotso Mokoena (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 (wind: -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 (wind: +0.7 m/s)
1st Triple jump 16.77 m (wind: -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

Personal bests

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

  1. 1 2 "IAAF: Athlete profile for Godfrey Khotso Mokoena". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  2. 1 2 3 "Glasgow 2014 - Khotso Mokoena Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  3. ↑ IAAF, 5 July 2009: 8.50m African Long Jump record for Mokoena in Madrid – IAAF World Athletics Tour
  4. 1 2 South African athletics records
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