Long jumper Jovan Van Vuuren eyes World Champs podium

By Charles Baloyi
26th February 2023

South African long jump champion Jovan Van Vuuren hopes to follow in the footsteps of Luvo Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai by winning a medal at the World Senior Championships, starting in Hungary later this year.

For a few years, SA dominated the podium in the sandpit, with Manyonga winning a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and also winning gold while his counterpart, Samaai won silver at the World Championships in London in 2017. The pair shared a podium again in Nigeria in 2018 at the African Senior Championships where Samaai won gold and Manyonga won silver.

With a personal best of 8.16m, the 27-year-old talented jumper told SABC Sport his time has arrived, and he is on a mission to make his country proud in 2023.

“I watched Luvo and Samaai collect medals at the highest level in the past few years, and I am ready to step up and emulate them. This is my year to reach the podium, and I can do it if I work hard,” vowed Van Vuuren.

However, Samaai failed to make the finals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and the World Championships in the USA last year and Manyonga is serving a four-year ban for a drug violation.

While Van Vuuren leaped 7.80m to secure 19th place in his debut World Championships.

“It was a learning curve for me in my first World Championships appearance. I was nervous and did not know what to expect at the highest level. But I am returning there with a better experience”, said Van Vuuren.

Two weeks ago, Van Vuuren won the Sportsman of the Year at the Gauteng Sports Awards in Soshanguve.

He had a sterling 2022 winning, the SA title, a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and qualified for the World and African senior championships in USA and Mauritius.

The qualifying distance for the World Championships is 8.25m, and Van Vuuren is confident he can secure his qualification mark.

“With the qualifying criteria so high, I think if you can qualify for a higher level standard, you are in contention to win a medal at the World Championships. I think, jumping the World Championships and Olympic Games (8.27m), you are a guaranteed medal contender. With the world ranking system now, which selects 34 athletes, everyone can win a medal,” said Van Vuuren.

Van Vuuren is working with Neil Cornelius, the man credited with Manyonga winning a silver medal at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and African titles, including the Diamond League title.

“For me to work with former Luvo’s coach (Neil Cornelius) is the best thing I could even ask for in the sandpit. He is a hard-working coach, and I am excited,” he says.

As a part-time long jumper in 2016, Van Vuuren worked with 400m world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk’s former coach Tannie Ans Botha with 400m as his main event.

“I started taking the long jump seriously in 2019, and I am excited to see what the long jump will do for me, especially now with the new season and a new technic, a new run-up that my coach and I are trying out. I have a feeling this will be a big year,”

Van Vuuren plans to open his season in the Grand Prix Series, starting next month in Tshwane, Potchefstroom, and Germiston.

“I want to jump a few Grand Prix events, provincial championships, and the senior national championships before heading to Europe for a training camp around May. I will also participate in the Continental tour in Gaborone in Botswana in April,” concluded Van Vuuren.