‘God has a plan for me’, says Luvo Manyonga
He has been out of action for a few years due to a drug addiction, which saw him also receive a four-year ban for missing a drug test.
Olympic silver medalist and former world champion, Luvo Manyonga. Photo: 947
JOHANNESBURG - Following a 4-year ban and years of struggling with drug addiction, Luvo Manyonga is stepping back onto the track with renewed purpose.
He has been out of action for a few years due to a drug addiction, which saw him also receive a four-year ban for missing a drug test.
The World Athletics' integrity unit brought a charge against him for whereabouts failures for anti-doping purposes.
Manyonga was a household name, an athlete on the rise and seemed unstoppable as he flew high during competitions.
“I was exposed to crystal meth, tik as they call it a kasi, it wasn't pressure or anything. It's something that I wanted to do, to taste for myself, but having this addictive personality, I got hooked the first time, not even knowing that it's an addictive drug, I was just using it for fun.”
The 2016 Olympic silver medallist’s long battle with drug addiction is well documented since crystal meth was detected in his doping sample in 2012, which led to his ban. He’d struggled with drug addiction since he was 17.
“So time went and I was starting to make money, thinking I can juggle these two balls, but I couldn't. And also things happened in my life, like my parents drinking sometimes, and those fights happening. So I use crystal meth as an escape of my reality not wanting to face my reality. It escalated to a point that I felt comfortable using most of the time. Not even thinking that I'm damaging my career and also messing up the greatest talent that God gave me.”
He hopes to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in September but the qualifying standard for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, later this year is set at 8.27m.
“Yes, of course, I think I have another Olympics in myself because all these 4 years I was out, it was like a car was parked, not being used. I can minus 4 years from my age, I'm still 30 years old now. We are just going to change the system,” said Manyonga.
Speaking during an interview with Robert Marawa, he said that he would be clean in season, but off-season he wanted the same high that competing gave him.
“I had this pattern of in season, I would be focusing on my athletics career, and I would be clean. So it has this thing of you being in the limelight and that energy and vibe, like when you are overseas, it's just a hype. When the season finishes, you are still on that high and fame.”
He said as a young boy, he dreamt of being a world champion or a superstar, and that image is what keeps him going to this day.
“'I am alive, ' those are the words that keep me going and inspire me to try in the thick and thin of the things that happened in my life and the ups and downs. It's always been a motto for me that as long as I'm alive, God has a plan for me. Since I was young, I have imagined becoming a world champion or a superstar of this country, so that image kept me going till this day.”
The 34-year-old competed in an invitational event in Stellenbosch in March, where he finished third with a 7.31m.
In April, the former world champion returned to national competition at the Puk McArthur Stadium in Potchefstroom, where he competed for the first time since serving a four-year drug ban that ended in December.
He finished sixth with a jump of 7.68m, marking his first appearance at the national championships since his last title win in 2019.
He won a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in London and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
947’s Robert Marawa was in conversation with 2016 Olympic silver medalist Luvo Manyonga. Listen below: