It’s been nearly a month now when Luvo Manyonga jumped into South African hearts with his silver medal at the Rio Olympics.
But when his coach Neil Cornelius speaks about that wonderful night at the Olympic Stadium when the 25-year-old from Mbekweni near Paarl became a significant part of long jump history, you can hear what it meant to both athlete and coach.
Manyonga so nearly grabbed a gold medal, as he was in the lead until the very last round with an 8.37m effort, when American Jeff Henderson pulled out an 8.38m leap to win in dramatic fashion.
But it was still an amazing outcome for a man who had given up the sport and almost lost his life to drug-related problems a few years ago, and returned from Brazil as a national hero.
“His mindset was on point in Rio. It felt like an SA championship for him – he didn’t do anything strange, he didn’t try something else. He was over-eager at the SA champs… he just wanted to go big. And in Rio, he was into the competition and just concentrated on his normal things, his normal jumps and his run-up,” Cornelius told Independent Media on Thursday.
“That mindset made it for him, and it really felt like a normal competition and not an Olympics. It is easy to put other guys on a pedestal and you fear him and lose focus.”
Now he returns to the track on Friday evening at the Diamond League in Brussels, where he should be considered the favourite in the absence of Henderson (8.45pm SA time).
But there are still some big names in the field, including world leader Jarrion Lawson of the United States – whose 2016 mark stands at a massive 8.58m and ended fourth in Rio – as well as Uruguay’s Emiliano Lasa (sixth in Rio) and Australian Henry Frayne (seventh).
Cornelius, though, says his charge will go out to enjoy himself, but agrees that often when the pressure’s off, a big performance is the result.
“He is always up for it. Look, Luvo Manyonga always has a big jump in him, so he is eager for the opportunity. It is almost like a fun meeting for him – one that he can enjoy. He doesn’t really have a goal or distance in mind for Friday night. He is just going out to jump, and however far he goes, it’s going to be a bonus,” the coach said.
“Before the Olympics, in those last two months or so, we spent a lot of time on trying to get his rehabilitation sorted out and to get rid of all the injuries. If it wasn’t for the SA nationals and the mistakes we made there, then we wouldn’t have had a chance for a silver medal. Those errors had an effect on our game plan to such an extent that we could get that medal at the Olympics.
“I don’t think he has jumped in Brussels before, so it will be an ideal preparation and experience for him for the year ahead, with the world championships next August (in London).”
@ashfakmohamed