18 August 2008 - Silver Medal
Long Jump - Olympics Beijing
Khotso Godfrey Mokoena Mrs E de Beer
THE "GODFREY" STORY (2000-2004)
In January 2000 a young, skinny, very shy boy, Godfrey Nkosi, came to Nigel High from Ratanda, in Heidelberg. As is customary, all learners took part in the traditional January athletics tabloids, Godfrey also participated and showed some promise in high jump, particularly . . . little did we know.
With the assistance and encouragement of educator Mrs E de Beer, he soon excelled. He did well at all the meetigs and improved from 1,68m at inter-house, to qualify with a height of 1,85 at the Provincial Championships for the SA Championships, where he ended fifth. He was also part of the Nigel High ABSA Mega Cup U/15 team - the Gauteng champions - and came second at the National Championships.
In 2001 Godfrey, now Mokoena, kicked off by claiming the Junior Victor Ludorum trophy at the inter-house. He then started to practise seriously and it soon became obvious that this was a boy with a mission: his success story had started. At 'The Glen" he cleared the 2m barrier for the first time. He represented South Gauteng at the USSASA Championships in Rustenburg and, with his two gold medals, also brought back the SA Youth Long Jump record with a jump of 7,17m. At the SA Youth Championships in Belville, he won gold for Long Jump and bronze for High Jump and at the SA Junior Championships in Pretoria, he achieved bronze for High Jump and a fifth place for Long Jump. He represented SA in Mauritius, Spain and Hungary and brought back three gold medals, one silver medal and a Southern Region Long Jump record. At the World Youth Championships in Hungary, he ended fifth in High Jump. He was a member of the Nigel High U/17 ABSA Mega Cup Team which triumphed at the National Championships in Potchefstroom and as the National winners, represented South Africa in Malaga, Spain at the ISF Jean Humbert Cup. Godfrey was included in the National team which became the International Schools Federation Champions. At this event, Godfrey won the High Jump and came second in the 110m Hurdles. What a busy and exciting year.
In 2002 the 'fairy tale' continued. Godfrey was the Senior Victor Ludorum at the inter-house and the "Best Boy Athlete" at inter-high for winning the High Jump, Long Jump and 110m Hurdles and gaining second place in the 200m event. At the USSASA National Championships he won the High Jump and Long Jump and broke the National record in Long Jump. At the National Youth Championships he once again brought back two gold medals and at the National Junior Championships he achieved gold for Long Jump. At the Southern Region Championships in Namibia he achieved gold and broke the record for High Jump, while at the Southern Region Junior Championships he won gold for Long Jump. This was good enough for him to be chosen for inclusion in the National team (in spite of him still being an U/17 Youth athlete) which represented South Africa in Jamaica at the World Junior Championships. At a meeting in Pretoria, Godfrey made history when he broke the National Youth and Junior Long Jump records with a magnificent jump of 7,82m. In September, for the first time in his life, he experimented withTriple Jump and a week later broke the SA Youth and Junior records with a jump of 16,03m. He became one of only six South African athletes (of all time) and the youngest person in the world to jump more than 16m. What an achievement! His athletics career was altered dramatically as a result, and 2003 would be the year of major changes.
In 2003 Godfrey had to choose between High Jump and Long Jump and decided to go with Long Jump . . . a wise choice. Throughout the year he enjoyed success upon success. At the Vaal Triangle Championships he took part in three events, i.e. Long Jump, Triple Jump and 110m Hurdles. He won gold and broke the Provincial record in all three events. It became evident that Triple Jump would play a major role in his future. During the National Junior Championships he won gold for Long and Triple Jump. He now regularly participated at ABSA meetings and became a main attraction with his three golds and three SA records in a row. At the Engen meetings he took part against senior athletes from other countries and ended second on both occasions breaking the SA Junior Record yet again. He was one of only three athletes to represent South Africa at the Southern Region Junior Championships in Zambia, winning gold for both Triple and Long Jump. The highlight of this year was surely his participation in the All-African Games in Nigeria where he achieved silver for Triple Jump and bronze for Long Jump. In Triple Jump he broke the National as well as the African Junior Records. These achievements won him inclusion in the team to represent the African continent at the Afro-Asian Games in India, where he excelled, winning bronze medals. After this he was identified by NOCSA to become an OPEX Athlete. This was the first time the Olympic Games came to mind, albeit a very vague and unreal dream . . . perhaps 2008 in Beijing?
2004 would prove to be an awesome year. How much can one 19-year old boy achieve in one year . . . ? Godrey (Khotso) Mokoena achieved more in this year than many people can dream of in a lifetime! He was now in Matric and became and RCL Custodian at the School and the Hostel where he also had his own Bible study group. In spite of all these commitments, Godfrey rarely missed an athletics practice session or meeting, deserving every success that came his way. At four of the five ABSA meetigs, he won gold and broke the Provincial record twice, the National Junior record three times and the African Junior record once. At the Provincial Championships he broke the Provincial Senior and Junior record in Triple and Long Jump and the National Junior record in Long Jump. At the National Junior Championships he achieved gold in Long and Triple Jump, broke the National Junior record, the National Senior record, the African Junior record and qualified according to the ASA A-Standard for the 2004 Olympic Games. Godfrey was one of the first South African athletes to qualify for the Olympic games and one of the few who did it according to the ASA A-Standard. What had been only a long-term dream was now an immediate reality. At the National Senior Championships he competed only in the Triple Jump, winning gold. The event which must be highlighted for this year was the Junior World Championships in Grosetto, Italy. The pressure was totally on his shoulders because he entered this competition as number two in the world for Triple Jump and number three for Long Jump. He exceeded everybody's expectations and handled the pressure with the temperament of a professional. With his mind focused and his body well prepared, he entered this 'battlefield' with a determination seldom seen, even in senior athletes. Godfrey was ready! The whole experience was absolutely wonderful and nothing like any previous competition in which he had ever taken part. He became the Junior World Champion in Triple Jump and won the silver medal for Long Jump in which he broke the National Junior Record five time - with a final jump that was 2cm short of that of Italina jumper Andrew Howe's winning distance of 8,11m. A WORLD CHAMPION from Nigel High . . . WOW!
The experience of the Olympic Games was huge, different and awe-inspiring. Godfrey now had to compete against the world's best senior athletes - people such as Christian Ohlsson. Most of them had jumped 17m before - what a scary thought - but what a privilege to be on the field with those Big names! Godfrey went there mostly for the experience and that was definitely what he got. Although he did not jump a personal best, he still finished in 14th place and that put him in his next phase - the four-year training plan for the next Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 where he should be a medal contender.
What a success story. A skiny, shy, talented young athlete whose talent was discovered, nurtured and developed from zero to hero in just five years. His God-given talent would have brought him nowhere had he not used it with dedication, determination, belief in himself and many, many hours, days and years of hard work. His fellow athletes and friends played a major role in his athletics career and we pay tribute to them.
Godfrey's achievements never went to his head and he always gave the honour to God for all his successes, remaing the Godfrey we learnt to know in 2000. What his future holds is totally in the hands of his Creator. We will follow his career with love and interest, knowing he is from Nigel High and he has real BLUE BLOOD in his veins. We wish him luck and pray that he will be seen as an idol by many future success stories, unwritten up to now.
Written by Mrs E. de Beer for the Nigel High School Magazine 2004
CONGRATULATIONS KHOTSO ON ACHIEVING THE MEDAL THAT WAS PREDICTED FOR YOU. CONGRATULATIONS MRS DE BEER - HE WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR BOYKIE.