This year the 30-year-old is back and eager to repeat those successes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far for me the season has been going as planned,\u201d he smiles. \u201cI\u2019m not yet at top shape. I only came out of hard training in April and building the base. We decided to build our campaign in Shanghai and take it from there, but so far I\u2019m happy, jumping 8.10m consistently. By the time July and August comes I\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2008 Olympic silver medalist knows the value of being patient in his approach and is confident that he can take a second successive Diamond Trophy, drawing on the vast experience he has gained from more than ten years of competing at the highest level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year is a little bit different to how we did our preparation last year,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe thought we\u2019d start a little bit earlier, which will give us a nice advantage, from Oslo on Thursday and then onwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good. I\u2019ve seen the guys who\u2019ve jumped indoors and they\u2019re doing very well. It shows me that I just need to be patient and I need a few more meetings before I get my rhythm back and I just need to start getting some points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any points gained in these early meetings are a bonus for Mokoena, who, since a switch of coaches to Emmarie Fouch\u00e9, has tended to peak at just the right time to secure major honours.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a target that we wanted to win the Diamond Race,\u201d he recalls, \u201cbut we knew that my shape was only going to come at the end of the year. I was lucky that I was able to get into Stockholm and Brussels. I was able to win both of those meetings and that gave me an advantage with the points and I was able to clinch it at the end of the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Diamond Race is absolutely a target for me. By the time that I get into shape I\u2019m going to be on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, the African long jump record holder is acutely aware of how far he needs to be jumping in order to hit his targets:<\/p>\n
\u201cI was speaking to my coach and I said last year I could barely jump 8m until the end of July. So I\u2019m ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
2014 actually marked a return to form for Mokoena, who, having won gold at the World Junior Championships as long ago as 2004, has also secured World Indoor gold and medals at both the Olympic games and World Championships in an illustrious career, had spent a few years suffering with injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI struggled a bit with my hamstring,\u201d he confirms. \u201cI changed coaches after my previous coach and I decided to part ways. It was tough and I was struggling to find my rhythm, but so far I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving to Fouch\u00e9\u2019s group, which also includes current African long jump champion Zarck Visser, has also meant a return to the triple jump, the event at which Mokoena started his international career:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy coach told me that she can work on my triple jump and get it better. When we came to the triple jump last year, I started jumping well at the Commonwealth Games. That\u2019s when my shape also started coming. We haven\u2019t done triple jump much this year, but I\u2019ve done one or two home meetings with a short run up. I was able to jump 16.70, so I don\u2019t yet want to start triple jumping with the big guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some athletes might be daunted by the performances in the Diamond League so far produced by Olympic champion and Christian Taylor and Cuba\u2019s Pedro Pablo Pichardo, but not Mokoena. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re looking super awesome,\u201d he grins. \u201cBut from July I\u2019ll be doing triple jump. We\u2019ll start in Lausanne.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed far from fearing the competition, Mokoena sees the raising of the standards in wholly positive terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristian Taylor is a great jumper. Seeing him jump 18m \u2013 he\u2019s always inspired me and it inspires me that I can also get there. I just need to be patient. Pichardo is also inspiring. He does it so easy. He doesn\u2019t stay long on the ground. That\u2019s one of the tricks to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mokoena\u2019s comeback is just one element in a wider resurgence of South African athletics and long jump in particular, something that he attributes to the fierce but friendly rivalries fostered at domestic level.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong jump in South Africa has picked up nicely,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it could be the inspiration. There\u2019s a lot of young jumpers in the country and each and every one of them wants to be at the top and at the moment they\u2019re all showing up and all love competing against each other to be at the World Championships and do well. For many years I\u2019ve been alone, the only South African doing long jump and triple jump. But now things are looking quite nice and these youngsters are keeping me young.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bislett Games in Oslo marks the next step in Mokoena\u2019s bid to retain his Diamond Trophy, and he is under no illusions as to what it will take to ensure that he meets his goals:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn both long jump and triple jump I\u2019m looking for PRs. As long as I keep doing 8.10m and better, I\u2019m definitely on target.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean Hardman for the IAAF Diamond League<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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