By Manyehlisa Lehohla
South African long jump legend Khotso Mokoena says the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was a sign that it was time to hang up his spikes.
During the heady days of his career, Mokoena won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The next year, he won the same colour medal at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.
Alongside a decorated athletics career spanning almost two decades, the 39-year-old Mokoena dabbled in entrepreneurship early in his career.
Before delving into what keeps him occupied, Mokoena, the chairperson of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s (Sascoc) Athletes Commission and World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) ambassador, reflected on his journey of fusing his successful career with his business acumen.
During his career, Mokoena asked himself: What next?“
“It was tough because when I was an athlete, I was always curious about what to do next … As I grew in my career, I knew I wanted to be a business-minded sportsman, so, I ran my athletics career as a business,” he said.
He had no mentors to consult and, therefore,his only option was to seek alternative sources of knowledge.
“I come from a small township … I did not have mentors to advise me on finance or business. I had to learn on my own, so I read a lot of books and consulted online programmes to understand the world of entrepreneurship and how that world works … so I could fit it in with my passion for sport," said Mokoena.
Part of Mokoena’s learning was investing in himself as an athlete and surrounding himself with people who contributed to his success in athletics.
“I always used my money to be better in athletics … by making sure I have a good physio and good trainers. I even did karate to help me with some of my movements in long jump," said Mokoena.
“Financing that aspect of my career prepared me for any business I wanted to set up. The other lesson was learning how to work with people and implementing plans that I had drawn up."
Mokoena remembers his first foray into business, which saw him lose money. Rather than give up, he saw it as an important lesson.
“After the Beijing Games, I took the money I made and invested in something outside of sport. One was for the upskilling of young people. It failed, but it was my first time trying and without guidance from anyone.
“But being an athlete, you learn to be resilient and learn with repetition. A lot of knowledge came from that and it got me excited about trying other ventures.”
Since his retirement in 2020, Mokoena has continued on the business route. While it was hard to accept that he’d reached the end of the road, he gained an appreciation for everything he had achieved.
"It was a difficult decision to make. I planned to retire after the 2016 Olympic Games, but my body felt good. So, I told myself: ‘I can go for another four years’, but when 2020 came, I felt I had done what I could as an active athlete, It was time. I had achieved so much. I won an Olympic medal and a World Championship medal. I competed and won other international competitions.
“I reached a point where I appreciated that I had done well in my career. It was time to do something that would advance upcoming athletes. When the Tokyo Games got postponed, I knew then it was time. It was time.”
Apart from his Sascoc and Wada commitments, Mokoena started the Youth, Athletes and Skills Development Institute.
"What we do there is help young people gain entrepreneurship skills and be employable. We also have character-building programmes in place, so, when they leave high school, they are ready for the real world.
“It’s a platform for athletes doing well at a young age. When they become successful, they become exposed to things like money, so they need to prepare themselves to deal with the pressure of managing that.
“A programme like this will give pointers on how to manage money and help them understand what is happening around them.”
He also continues to be a voice for athletes at the Sascoc front office.
“I deal with the athletes and make sure their needs are met and that we are the voice of the athletes … To help them improve their performances. We are also planning an athletes indaba to get feedback from the athletes about the Olympics and Paralympics," said Mokoena.
“The athlete’s indaba was not available during my time. It is something I came up with together with the athlete’s commission. It is a legacy we have to leave as a commission – a platform where athletes gather to speak and act on becoming better.
“It opens a pathway for federations to hear the athletes and what they have been through …They can have an enhanced plan according to what the athletes have said.”
Mokoena has a great legacy behind him. He is also a fine example to young athletes who want to capitalise on their success during their careers.
Manyehlisa Lehohla is the founder and curator of The Big Tip Off. (https://thebigtipoff.co.za).
BUSINESS REPORT