Images : Cecilia van Bers , Reg Caldecott

Bradley Nkoana

become slightly snobbish this season . Eight metres is now my benchmark .”

Another highlight for the new champion was being congratulated by World Champs and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ruswahl Samaai , the defending SA Champion . “ Ruswahl unfortunately tested positive for COVID , so I texted him before the competition , saying I wished he was with us competing ,” says Jovan . Ruswahl won gold during last year ’ s national championships , with Jovan second .

Consistency and BMT

According to Jovan , 2021 was not a good year . He was diagnosed with two fractures in his pelvis and had to undergo serious rehabilitation , but that was not the worst of it . “ My biggest disappointment was not competing at the Tokyo Olympics . Emotionally it took its toll , and there was a stage when I was asking myself why I was putting in all the long , hard hours if I couldn ’ t achieve what I had set out to do . But as they say , sometimes a setback can be good , and I am certainly more motivated now ,” he says .

That saw Jovan claim the provincial title at the Gauteng North Championships earlier this year ,

If Bradley had ‘ dipped ’ earlier for the line , the result could have been different , but the TuksSport High School learner is not one to speculate on what might have been . He is just happy with the result , saying that he pushed his boundaries and got a medal – and to do so at his first senior championships , racing his heroes Akani and Henricho Bruintjies , made that all the more memorable . Especially after being sidelined for nearly two years , first by the lockdown restrictions and then by injuries .

“ I must admit I was a bit ‘ soft ’ before the final , but then my coach , Paul Gorries , calmed me down , saying I ’ ve got nothing to lose . It made me realise that whatever Akani and Henricho achieved in the past does not matter . They are human , and we are racing . What mattered was that I should run to the best of my abilities , and as an equal .” Ironically , the youngster is slightly embarrassed about how his first-ever senior 100m final played out in those

with a winning jump of 8.16m . That beat his previous best of 8.10 and moved him up to seventh on the all-time list of South African long jumpers , but Jovan is not satisfied with that . “ I know I have not yet come close to executing the perfect jump , but at least I am consistent .” Jovan adds that the hard work done with his coach , Neil Cornelius , is really paying off this year . “ Neil and I have worked hard on improving my big match temperament . Often during practice , he will create a scenario where I need to achieve a specific goal . The idea is to get me used to performing at my best when pressured .”

Neil adds that going big on the last jump is something they have worked on the whole season . “ Too often , I have seen how the Americans win gold with an impressive last jump . It is because they never give up , and I want Jovan to be able to do the same . We have also worked on getting him to consistently jump further than eight metres . So far this season , he has done so in each competition . That breakthrough moment is bound to happen if he can continue doing so .”

last hundredths of a second . “ I made the mistake of looking to my left to see what was happening . When I saw Akani next to me , I got too excited and lost focus ,” he admits .

Turning to the Track

Running was not always Bradley ’ s passion . He used to be an avid footballer when in primary school in Winterveld . “ I played left back and my job was to chase down the wings . Everything changed when one of my coaches told me that I was not a bad footballer , but I had the makings to be a great athlete . Shortly afterwards , I got scouted by Tuks .”

However , at the same time he was facing another challenge : His mom died when he was 11 , but his father , Freddy , himself a former athlete , made sure his son remained motivated and focused , and tries never to miss one of Bradley ’ s races . “ My uncles told me that my dad was no slouch in his younger days . He is often the one who calms me down and helps me to be focused , reminding me why I do what I do , and for whom I am doing it . “

Things went well until March 2020 , but shortly after Bradley had raced the Gauteng North Championships , the COVID Pandemic lockdown was announced , and even when competition came back slowly in 2021 , he was sidelined by a hamstring injury and a fractured heel . “ I started to doubt my abilities , but my Grandmother got me to think like a champion again when she told me she believed in me . She advised me to never give up , no matter what happened , adding that I should run to make my mother proud , because she is ‘ watching ’ and smiles every time I run a good race . Her words changed everything . I was motivated again , and from then on , everything mattered when I trained . . . technique , discipline , recovery .”

This year Bradley has bounced back , winning the Under-18 titles in the 100m and 200m at the South African Junior and Youth Championships in Potchefstroom . He also clocked a personal best 10.21 in the 100m , but he believes he can still go faster and beat the current SA Under-18 Record of 10.20 .

The basis of this article was supplied by the Department of Sport ( TuksSport ) at the University of Pretoria . To find out more about their sporting clubs and facilities , go to www . up . ac . za / tukssport .

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