Getting long jumpers to push the boundaries seems like the forte of the well-known athletics coach from Tuks athletics, Neil Cornelius. 

As Rekord reported last week, the 18-year-old Asande Mthemba, a student at TUT, made fans sit up and note his heroics when he jumped 8.08 metres during the South African Junior Championships in Pietermaritzburg.

This was good enough to win gold in the u.20 competition, but after the weekend’s action in Potchefstroom it became clear that Mthemba’s distance in Pietermaritzburg could also have made him the national senior champion, as his performance was better than the 7.95m with which Cheswill Johnson won the ASA senior championship

What made this more remarkable is that it is only the second time an 18-year-old South African athlete exceeded 8 metres in a long jump competition. The last time it happened was 12 years ago. Mpho Maphutha jumped 8 metres in 2011 in Germiston. Cornelius also coached him.

Mthemba’s 8.08-metre jump ranks him as the 11th best on the South African all-time list. 

The former World Champion and Olympic medallist Luvo Manyonga and Khotso Mokoena (also a former Olympic medallist) only managed to jump 8 metres when they were 19. 

There is a lovely story to be told about Mthemba’s big jump in Pietermaritzburg. His second attempt was massive. Cornelius believes that he might have come close to improving on Manyonga’s SA junior record (8.19 metres). But unfortunately, he overstepped.

That was not the worst of it. 

“Asande literally jumped out of his spikes. On landing, both his shoes had torn open. We had to hastily borrow another athlete’s spikes so he could continue competing. The shoes were, however, slightly too big. It led to Asande struggling to find form,” Cornelius remarked.

After five rounds, Mthemba was out of the medal race. He might have been fifth.

“Asande then decided he had nothing to lose, so he wanted to do his last jump with his own shoes. I was lucky to find some blue duct tape. I wrapped it around both shoes as best as I could so that it was intact again. With his last attempt wearing patched shoes, Asande did not hold back. He went big and when he landed, I knew it was a massive jump,” Cornelius recalled the events.

The coach could not help himself and he started cheering.

“It was a fantastic comeback. It proved that Asande has got a big match temperament. His shoes, however, did not survive. Afterwards, you could put a whole hand through the gaping holes,” Cornelius said with a big smile.

When asked if the youngster could be the next real deal as a South African long jumper, Cornelius said he believed so.

“What makes Asande so special to coach is his passion for being the best. He thinks like a champion. Some might perceive him to be cocky, but he is not. Any athlete who wants to be a champion must have confidence in their abilities,” Cornelius concluded.

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