Godfrey Mokoena opens with an 8.15m leap in Pochefstroom (© organisers)
Olympic Long Jump silver medallist Godfrey Mokoena, Sunette Viljoen and Janus Robberts had impressive starts at the Yellow Pages Series meet in Pochefstroom South Africa on Friday (23) night.
It is an indication that action on the infield could provide South Africa its best chance in the quest for medals at the World Championships in Berlin Germany in August. That is crucial in reviving the fan’s passion for the sport having returned home from the last two World Championships empty-handed.
Solid start for Mokoena
Leading by example Mokoena, also the reigning World indoor champion, livened up the fans with a final leap of 8.15m in the Long Jump to qualify for Berlin. He had progressed with leaps of 7.47, 7.74 and 8.03.
“I am a bit surprised by this. I did not expect to jump this far in my first meet. If I go to the Indoor meet in Glasgow, Scotland next week, then surely I am in form to leap much further,” said Mokoena.
Viljoen reaches near-PB
Putting behind her two years where injury limited her progress, Sunette Viljoen won the women’s Javelin Throw with a 62.15m effort on her second attempt. This was merely nine centimetres of her former Africa record.
“It was important to get in a good throw early, because we often find ourselves throwing against the wind. As the event progressed the wind intensified and I knew it was going to be difficult throwing further,” Viljoen, who is based in Potchefstroom, explained.
Inspired by her form she exudes confidence. Viljoen is thinking beyond shattering the Africa record of 62.80m held by her training partner Justin Robbeson who is currently out of action through injury. “This could be a special year for me. I hope to throw close to 65 metres,” Viljoen revealed.
Robberts returning to 20m form
Meanwhile making a return to top flight competition, Janus Robberts opened the season with a heave of 19.60m in the Shot Put. This propelled Ross Jordaan (19.46), and Orazio Cremora (18.19) to make equally promising starts to their season. Buoyed by his rich vein of form so early in the season Robberts went on to win the discus with a modest throw of 53.41m.
“My shot put throw was my best performance since the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne Australia. I gave myself a rest to recover from injury and have been training well since last July. I want to throw consistently over 20m during the domestic season before shifting my focus to the European summer season,” Robberts said.
French spot putter Laurence Manfredi gave the best performance among the contingent of European athletes who make the annual trek to Potchefstroom for warm weather training at this time of the year. Her 17.59m effort is a World Championships B standard qualifier.
Although she won the women’s Long jump, Janice Josephs was not satisfied with a 6.19m effort. “I am in shape for a 6.50m. My coach and I just need to correct a few things with my run up. I want to get the business of qualifying for Berlin out of the way pretty soon so that I can focus on bigger and better jumps later in the year,” Josephs said.
The United Arab Emirates’ Omar Al Salfa made an impact in first appearance in this series winning the 200m in 20.99. Other notable performances came from local 400m runner Pieter Smith (46.00), hammer thrower Chris Harmse (72.22), and Briton Marilyn Okoro’s (53.37) in 400m.
Mark Ouma for the IAAF
