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. He started to compete in athletics at the age of 13.
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. 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.
For the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he switched back to the triple jump, winning the gold medal.
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  South Africa
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| 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)
- Triple jump – 17.35 m (2005) NR
- 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
- ^ "IAAF: Athlete profile for Godfrey Khotso Mokoena". iaaf.org. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Khotso Mokoena Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- IAAF, 5 July 2009: 8.50m African Long Jump record for Mokoena in Madrid – IAAF World Athletics Tour
- ^ "South African athletics records". Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
External links
- Godfrey Khotso Mokoena at World Athletics
- Godfrey Khotso Mokoena at Diamond League
- Godfrey Khotso Mokoena at Olympics.com
- Godfrey Khotso Mokoena at Olympedia
- Godfrey Khotso Mokoena at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
| World Indoor Champions in men's long jump | |
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| African Champions in men's long jump | |
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| African Champions in men's triple jump | |
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| Commonwealth Games champions in men's triple jump | |
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 Diamond League champions in men's long jump | |
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| World U20 Champions in men's triple jump | |
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- 1985 births
- Living people
- People from Lesedi Local Municipality
- South African Sotho people
- South African male long jumpers
- South African male triple jumpers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- University of Pretoria alumni
- Olympic athletes for South Africa
- Olympic silver medalists for South Africa
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- World Athletics Championships athletes for South Africa
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- African Games silver medalists for South Africa
- African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- African Games bronze medalists for South Africa
- Olympic male triple jumpers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games
- Diamond League winners
- World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
- South African Athletics Championships winners
- Athletes from Gauteng
- Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- 21st-century South African sportsmen