Godfrey Khotso Mokoena

Godfrey Khotso Mokoena

Mokoena at the 2009 Lappeenranta Games
Personal information
Born	(1985-03-06) March 6, 1985 (age 31)
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.

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.

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.

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."