Luvo Manyonga
One of the sadder moments at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun was seeing Luvo Manyonga rack up three fouls in the long jump, but one of the best moments was seeing him compete again.
For a period, Luvo was one of the best long jumpers in the world:
2016 Olympic silver
2017 World Champion
2018 World Indoor silver and Commonwealth Champion
Winner of 10 Diamond Leagues
He had a PR of 8.85.
I spoke to him in early 2019. He told me that becoming the world champion in 2017 had been
“ amazing and life changing,” adding that “It’s amazing, being labelled as world champ. It gives me so much encouragement to build more self-belief. Going to the 2019 World Championships would bring back good memories. There will be some pressure on me to defend my title. [He finished 4th]
He was very confident that he had not reached his peak: “I will break the world record. The world record could come any time.
He always looked happy when jumping: “Smiling when I compete is just my personality. I just have this smiling, bubbly personality. It’s not something I’m creating. I am in a happy, good space. There’s so much happening in my life that I need to celebrate it every day of my life”.
Then his life fell apart, and he did not compete at all from 2019 to 2024.
According to a recent article in The Guardian by Ben Bloom, he became addicted to drugs, including “using tik, a form of crystal meth prolific in South Africa’s townships”. He received a 4-year ban for missing the whereabouts of dope tests. He was further quoted in The Guardian: “My life was crazy. I was just living for another fix. I got to the point where I was robbing people, snatching phones, breaking into houses, just to get a fix. That’s how low I went. I just had to wake up in the morning and numb the pain because I didn’t want to accept that I had a problem.” He got himself clean and decided to give the long jump another try.
In 2025, he jumped 8.02 and qualified for Torun with an 8.11. Now 35, he has undoubtedly wasted his best years, but it would be great to see him have one last Harrah.
See further
Luvo Manyonga I I blew it – Search
Bing Videos links to a YouTube interview with Luvo
To read the story by Ben Bloom in the Guardian for March 19, 2026, on Luvo Manyonga.
