Luvo Manyonga
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  South Africa
|
||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
2016 Rio de Janeiro | Long jump |
| All-Africa Games | ||
 |
2011 Maputo | Long jump |
| African Championships | ||
|
2016 Durban | Long jump |
Luvo Manyonga (born 8 January 1991) is a South African track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. He holds a personal best of 8.65 m (28 ft 4 1⁄2 in), set in 2017 in Potchefstroom.
He was the African Games champion in 2011 and the runner-up at the 2016 African Championships in Athletics. Manyonga represented South Africa at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, placing fifth. He was world junior champion in 2010.
Manyonga was raised in Mbekweni township in Paarl, a city in the far south-west of South Africa. His father, John, as a fork-lift truck driver and was largely absent, leaving Manyonga to be raised by his mother, Joyce, a domestic cleaner. Given his surroundings, Manyonga had a poverty-stricken and dysfunctional upbringing, though his mother maintained the family home for him and his older brother and sister. He took part in local track and field competitions and his talent for long jump was soon identified. A local coach, Mario Smith, was surprised by the young man's ability and immediately set about supporting Manyonga towards a professional career.
Manyonga had his first international success at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships. Travelling to Mauritius, he jumped 7.49 m (24 ft 6 3⁄4 in) for the bronze medal. He ended that year with a long jump best of 7.65 m (25 ft 1 in) as well as a triple jump of 15.54 m (50 ft 11 3⁄4 in).
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