Godfrey Khotso Mokoena

Godfrey Khotso Mokoena

Mokoena at the 2009 Lappeenranta Games
Personal information
Born	(1985-03-06) March 6, 1985
Height	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	73 kg (160 lb)
Sport
Country	South Africa
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Long jump
Medal record Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Long jump World Championships Silver 2009 Berlin Long jump World Indoor Championships Gold 2008 Valencia Long jump Silver 2010 Doha Long jump World Athletics Final Bronze 2007 Stuttgart Long Jump Bronze 2009 Thessaloniki Long Jump African Championships Silver 2006 Bambous Long Jump Silver 2006 Bambous Triple Jump Gold 2010 Nairobi Long Jump Commonwealth Games Silver 2006 Melbourne Triple jump All-Africa Games Bronze 2003 Ajuba Long Jump Silver 2003 Ajuba Triple Jump Bronze 2007 Algiers Long Jump Afro-Asian Games Bronze 2003 Hyderabad Long Jump Bronze 2003 Hyderabad Triple Jump World Junior Championships Gold 2004 Grosseto Triple Jump Silver 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.

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.

Career

In 2008 he won 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.

Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Event
2001	World Youth Championships	Debrecen, Hungary	5th	High jump
2003	All-Africa Games	Abuja, Nigeria	3rd	Long jump
			2nd	Triple jump
	Afro-Asian Games	Hyderabad, India	3rd	Long jump
			3rd	Triple jump
2004	World Junior Championships	Grosseto, Italy	2nd	Long jump
			1st	Triple jump
2006	World Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	5th	Long jump
	Commonwealth Games	Melbourne, Australia	4th	Long jump
			2nd	Triple jump
	African Championships	Bambous, Mauritius	2nd	Long jump
			2nd	Triple jump
2007	All-Africa Games	Algiers, Algeria	3rd	Long jump
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	5th	Long jump
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	Long jump
2008	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	1st	Long jump
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	2nd	Long jump
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	2nd	Long jump
	World Athletics Final	Thessaloniki, Greece	3rd	Long jump
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	2nd	Long jump
	African Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	1st	Long jump

Personal bests

• Long jump – 8.50 m (2009) – national record.
• Triple jump – 17.25 m (2005) – national record.
• 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 profile for Godfrey Khotso Mokoena