TRACK & FIELD
Championships in Cape Town . At the start of the last round , he was lying second ( 7.92m ) to Cheswill Johnson , who had jumped 8.02m , and the windy conditions were making it really hard for the jumpers . “ I had so many thoughts crossing my mind when I lined up for the last jump . For a moment , I thought winning silver would still be a good result . But that was only for a moment ... I had worked too hard to give up . I had to make my last jump count . If it did not work out , so be it . Knowing I gave it my all was all that mattered ,” says Jovan .
“ The fear of overstepping made me overcompensate and I hardly touched the board , but it did not matter . I had jumped 8.04 metres to win my first national title . The fact that I had jumped further than eight metres made it more special , as I admit that I have become slightly snobbish , and eight metres is my new benchmark ,” he adds .
That saw Jovan selected to represent South Africa at the Africa Championships in Mauritius in June . Having jumped 8.10m or further in five local meets , including
“ The night before the final , I hardly slept , as I had a fever and body pain . I still decided to compete , but it ended up being a ' bad day at the office ,’ and afterwards , I was ' man down ’ for three days . It was one of the biggest disappointments of my athletics career . the SA Champs , and winning all five competitions , he went to Mauritius feeling confident of medalling , and his confidence grew after he sailed through the qualifying round to make the final . However , COVID then reared its ugly head … “ The night before the final , I hardly slept , as I had a fever and body pain . I still decided to compete , but it ended up being a ‘ bad day at the office ,’ and afterwards , I was ‘ man down ’ for three days . It was one of the biggest disappointments of my athletics career , because I don ’ t doubt that I would have medalled , but it does not help to keep wondering what could have been .”
ONTO THE WORLD STAGE
Next was the World Champs in Eugene , Oregon in the USA , in July , which would be followed immediately by the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the UK . Jovan readily admits that he was a novice when it comes to competing at the top international level , but says he did not let it deter him . “ Some might find it intimidating to compete against athletes they previously only saw on television , and considered to be their heroes , but that is not me . As far as I am concerned , everyone is human , and we can all make mistakes . The challenge during Worlds was not allowing it to get to me , and just focus on the next jump .”
Jovan did not qualify for the World Champs final , but credits this disappointment as the eye-opener he needed . “ If I am honest , it was a sort of a shock experience . First , I had to fight off the jetlag , then I had to come to peace with walking shoulder to shoulder with some of the international athletics legends . In the end , everything boiled down for me to compete more on mental strength than physical strength . I might not have qualified for the final , but the experience I gained stood me in good stead in Birmingham .”
At the Commonwealth Games , Jovan jumped 8.06m with his second attempt , and for a few minutes he was the gold medal contender . However , LaQuan Nairn from the Bahamas then jumped 8.08m , as did India ’ s Murali Sreeshankar , with the Bahamian winning on a countback , and leaving Jovan to settle for the bronze medal . However , the South African was not too disappointed with that . “ It is the beauty of long jumping . You could be in the lead , but it means nothing until the last jump . You could lose the gold , or any medal , in the dying seconds . It makes my sport so exciting , and that ’ s why I am passionate about what I do .”
Working on speed on the track is an essential part of long jump training .
“ My hamstring started to act up midway through the competition , but there was no way that I was going down without a fight . With my last attempts , it was a case of grin and bear it . To win bronze at the Commonwealth Games is the breakthrough I had hoped for . I know now that I can hold my own against the world ’ s best if I remain calm and focus on what needs to be done ,” says Jovan , adding , “ it will be wrong for me not to thank my coach , Neil Cornelius , for his effort to be at the Games . I think it cost him more than R20,000 to do so , but he wanted to be next to the track to ensure I stick to the basics . Thanks , Coach , I genuinely value your guidance .”
Images : Reg Caldecott & courtesy BackTrack , Supersport
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