A young and energetic long jumper excels with unwavering passion and dedication in long jump.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in South Africa from an early age, Kalanga Olivia Muya (20) recently set a new personal best of 5.54 metres at the University Sport South Africa (USSA) long jump qualifiers.
Muya’s journey began when she enrolled at the University of Johannesburg in 2020, studying towards a degree in BCom business management. She caught the attention of her current coach, coach Patience Ntshingila.
Long jumper Kalanga Muya in action at the Free State athletic stadium. Photo: Supplied
Recognising her potential at the UJ stadium when Muya participated in the first-year athletics. Ntshingila, who is also a former long jumper herself, scouted Muya into the world of long jump.
Muya said she has always been athletic. “In my primary school years, I played netball, tennis and ran cross country. “While in high school, I played soccer and did high jump, sprints and short hurdles,” Muya said.
Her sister Hervine Muya told Wits Vuvuzela that, “Olivia has dedication and perseverance when it comes to athletics, when her first jumps are not always the best or up to her standards, she doesn’t give up easily.”
Muya said that sports not only sculpted her physique but also instilled vital life lessons. She added, “achieving my goals requires commitment, a lot of focus and hard work, because you can’t get to where you want just by simply showing up to training sessions but putting in effort.”
Bethel Makoni, a BCom honours in quantitative finance student and Muya’s teammate, told Wits Vuvuzela that Muya’s greatest strength is how she embodies hard work. “[Olivia] understands that great performances don’t come easy and she’s willing to do the work that yields those performances,” said Makoni.
Muya believes that her own capabilities have been boosted by the inspiring performances of athletes such as Tara Davis and Shaunae Miller-Uibo. Muya said her peers are also a source of inspiration, “I look at other athletes that I am surrounded by and seeing how hard they work and how well they perform pushes me to want to become better.”
Muya said her most memorable achievement in her long jump career was “hitting a new personal and seasonal best of 5.54 metres at the USSA championships” which were held on May 5, 2023.
Juggling school and sports has been difficult. “I don’t really think there is even a balance if I am being real, but my school timetable is usually favourable to my training times, if I am not training or competing then I am focusing on academics,” Muya said.
While long jump dominates Muya’s life, she remains grounded in her faith. She considers herself a ‘prayer warrior’, acknowledging that her strength, energy, and support system are gifts from God.
FEATURED: Kalanga Muya landing after a jump at the Germiston stadium. Photo: Supplied
Wits athletes who attended a national championships in Durban last week were accommodated at the Banana Backpackers – youth hostel situated in the same building as an escort and massage parlour.
THE CHERRY ON TOP: The athletes neighbours at the building they were placed in. Photo: Axel Kayoka
Sprinter Axel Kayoka said the toilets were dirty, the showers had a stench that would not go away and the cupboards were filled with property that did not belong to them. He said the only female who had gone on the trip with them was too afraid to stay in the single room booked for her so she resorted to staying in the dorm with the rest of the guys.
“We really did not expect a five star or four star accommodation but we did expect something decent, a place that was at least liveable,” said Sprinter David Okharedia.
“We had to put our towels on the beds so our bodies wouldn’t touch the sheets. They were so dirty,” said Kayoka.
Kayoka and Okharedia said that their manager Marcus Toerien was attending a wedding in Durban and did not travel or stay with them.
Okharedia said Toerien walked into the place and did not flinch when he saw it. He said he simply walked in and showed them where they would sleep.
“Even his wife looked shocked by the state of the place, but Marcus didn’t care,” Okharedia said.
Kayoka said every time they left the backpackers their coach would warn them to keep their phones in their pockets.
The manager’s response
When Wits Vuvuzela asked Toerien why he had attended a wedding instead of devoting the whole weekend to the championships he said that the wedding had been planned months prior and “just happened to” clash with the championships.
Toerien said that there was nothing he could have done when they arrived at the accommodation on Thursday evening.
“The accommodation was on a list provided to me by the hosts [USSA]. I went with the guidelines given to us and the budget we had,” Toerien said.
He added that having looked at the accommodation online he felt there was no need to question that it was suitable.
When Wits Vuvuzela told Toerien that athletes had said they would have felt better if he stayed with them and felt the area had been dangerous he responded: “What difference would it have made if I was there? Did anything happen to threaten them?”
Toerien said if the coach was aware that the area was dangerous then he should have advised them, of that beforehand.
Okharedia said some of the athletes had issues with their registration for certain events. “If Marcus was there he could have sorted it out but he had left.”
Toerien denied that he was not there and said he had made every effort to sort out the registration issues but was unsuccessful in doing so.
“I didn’t have the information for the events that they said they wanted to take part in. Their names were never on those lists. That was the information they gave to me and the information I then communicated with USSA,” said Toerien.
The previous manager was better
Okharedia said this was not the first time Toerien had “failed” them. He said there were several accounts where he needed to follow up with Toerien about events when it was Toerien’s responsibility to inform him.
“I do not understand why they fired the previous manager. She always went the extra mile for us,” Okharedia said,
Onkabetse Matlhaga, the former manager explained that she was not fired but that her employment contract had come to an end and not been renewed.
She said she could not comment on Toerien’s management style but felt he could have done all he could to ensure that the place the athletes were going to stay in would be safe.
“Even if they arrived there and realised the place was not suitable, he could have communicated with Marius to figure out an alternative solution,” Matlhaga said.
“Instructions from the top not to respond to Wits Vuvuzela”
Wits Vuvuzela contacted Marius Henn, acting head of the sports administration department. He responded by saying he had been given instructions “from the top” not to respond to Wits Vuvuzela as we “publish what we want anyway.”
He then asked the reporter to send him questions via e-mail, to which he had not responded by the time of publication.
A MEMBER of the Wits athletics club has complained about politics at the sports administration department and possible marginalisation of some sports.
Sprinter Axel Kayoka, 3rd year engineering, student complained that the athletics team was attending the University Sports SA National Track & Field Championship in Durban but support and communication from the Wits sports administration department had been poor.
The competition runs today and tomorrow.
Kayoka said the club committee had failed to organise something as “basic” as kits for the team to wear at the championship.
“Wits is not very good at sports but the least they could do is ensure that we look professional when we get to championships at a professional and national level. It’s about people [other teams] having respect for us when we are there,” Kayoka said.
Vice chair of the athletics committee, Charmy Twala, said the issue of sport kits had been communicated to athletes and Kayoka may have missed that communication.
“It was difficult. We had to communicate with sponsors about the kits and they said we would have to get them delivered from Durban. We decided it would make better sense to get the kits when we arrive in Durban seeing as they are already there,” Twala said.
Koyaka said that if a sport kit was difficult to organise, then the committee should still communicate better with athletes.
“If the structural things are sorted out I am sure that then we would be able to attract other students who were brilliant at sports at their high schools and are now here at Wits,” he said.
Kayoka said he felt the coaches selected by Wits were also not up to par. He said the coach his team had was “not serious” and the techniques he used were not of a standard that would make them competitive against universities such as the University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch University.
“The coach has other athletes [who are not Wits students] at practice and focuses most of his energy on them. As a result I have opted to get training elsewhere in order to improve my performance,” Kayoka said.
Twala defended the athletics coach: “In my opinion the coach we have is good. He coaches athletes who are even part of the Olympics and he has good experience.”
Kayoka said amidst all these issues he was excited to compete at a national level as it means meeting people who are very well recognised in the athletics world.
“Seeing some of the names of the people who will be competing at the champs is really motivating and I will be very proud to be on the same field as them,” Kayoka said.
Witsie David Okharedia is a favourite to win in the South African under-23 (U23) Championships this coming weekend at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria.
The Computer Science honours student will be running the 100m and 200m as well as the 4x100m relay.
Okharedia started running when he was in primary school but unfortunately had to stop when he reached high school as the school he attended decided to cancel all athletics. In his second year at Wits, however, he started running again for the Wits Athletics Club and soon realised his natural talent for the sport.
In order for him to take his running to the next level, he had to get a good coach and a very fast training group, Okharedia said.
His coach, Oom Johan, plays a vital role in his life, not only in training, but in keeping him up to date on which competitions to run in.
Former Wits athletics manager, Onkabetse Matlhaga, also helps in keeping Okharedia well-informed about what’s going on in athletics even though he is not working at the university anymore.
“This, of course, aids me in focusing on my studies,” he said.
After winning the Central Gauteng U23 Championships over 200m and the Senior Championship over 100m, Okharedia would definitely be sitting as a favourite to win gold this weekend.
As big as this race may be, his focus is on the SA Senior Championships, happening in Cape Town from the April 12 to 14.
“This weekend should serve as a good warm-up for next weekend,” he said.
Okharedia confides: “Call it superstition or whatever, but before every race I like to read three bible verses.”
He explains that the way he manages to balance his studies with his sport is that he believes “if you make something a priority in your life, then you will always have time!”
Okharedia said that while he plans on continuing to run in the short-term, his long-term plans in the sport were uncertain.
“Well today I run, tomorrow I run, but as to whether I will be running in the next five years, only time will tell.”
Students fool around before the start of the Wits Students Surgical Society “fun run” held on Wednesday evening at the JCE campus. The run formed part of a charity drive for a new burns rehabilitation centre run by young burn victim Pippie Kruger’s mother Anice. An estimated 300 runners attended the event.
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