Coetzee breaks national long jump record
Record-breaking long jumper
The athlete believes patience is key, and his motto is to 'train smart, not hard.'
This past weekend, 25-year-old Lionel Coetzee broke the national high jump record at the Senior National Athletics Championships that was set by Stephan Louw at 8.24 metres. The record now stands at 8.27m.
Coetzee was born in Rehoboth, matriculated from De Duine Secondary School in 2015, and currently lives in Kuisebmund.
Coetzee has coached long jump for the Swakopmund Striders Athletics Club and Walvis Bay Private School since 2021.
From 2019 to 2021, Coetzee was part of a volunteer sports programme in Kiel, Germany, where he worked as a rugby and athletics coach at the FT Adler sports club.
Accomplishments
His journey with long jump started in 2018, when he started to compete in athletics.
Apart from being the current national long jump record holder, Coetzee is a two-time Namibian record holder and was an all-African Games 2019 long jump finalist in Morocco.
In addition to winning the silver at the Bronze Continental Tour in Gaborone, he is also a 100-metre silver medalist at the Namibia Senior Nationals and a long jump bronze medalist at the Namibian Senior Nationals.
Challenges
Coetzee stated that as an athlete, he faces quite a few challenges and setbacks, injuries being one of them.
"I train so hard to compete at the top level, and by doing that, my body needs to be maintained, so I need to eat the right foods and get enough sleep," he said.
He said he sustained a light tear on his hamstring in February earlier this year: "Luckily that time, Mr Adre, a physiotherapist from Healing in a Motion, sponsored my treatment, and he helped me recover from my hamstring injury very fast."
Training
"I also work a lot on my strength in the gym, and most importantly, I work a lot in a long jump pit perfecting my long jump technique," said Coetzee.
He says he has quickly discovered that as a long jump athlete, progress takes time.
"However, the day everything connects, from your speed to your takeoff and flight, you will get a perfect jump. You need to be patient with yourself, and you need to train smart, not hard, and believe in yourself," said Coetzee.
Coetzee encouraged young athletes to put everything in the hands of God.
He urged them to believe in their abilities and be confident in themselves while not forgetting to work very hard to attain future goals. He said sports are the future and that athletes build great relationships together.
"Sports, especially athletics, help us stay disciplined and make us leaders; practicing sports encourages me to stay away from bad stuff."
Coetzee was born in Rehoboth, matriculated from De Duine Secondary School in 2015, and currently lives in Kuisebmund.
Coetzee has coached long jump for the Swakopmund Striders Athletics Club and Walvis Bay Private School since 2021.
From 2019 to 2021, Coetzee was part of a volunteer sports programme in Kiel, Germany, where he worked as a rugby and athletics coach at the FT Adler sports club.
Accomplishments
His journey with long jump started in 2018, when he started to compete in athletics.
Apart from being the current national long jump record holder, Coetzee is a two-time Namibian record holder and was an all-African Games 2019 long jump finalist in Morocco.
In addition to winning the silver at the Bronze Continental Tour in Gaborone, he is also a 100-metre silver medalist at the Namibia Senior Nationals and a long jump bronze medalist at the Namibian Senior Nationals.
Challenges
Coetzee stated that as an athlete, he faces quite a few challenges and setbacks, injuries being one of them.
"I train so hard to compete at the top level, and by doing that, my body needs to be maintained, so I need to eat the right foods and get enough sleep," he said.
He said he sustained a light tear on his hamstring in February earlier this year: "Luckily that time, Mr Adre, a physiotherapist from Healing in a Motion, sponsored my treatment, and he helped me recover from my hamstring injury very fast."
Training
"I also work a lot on my strength in the gym, and most importantly, I work a lot in a long jump pit perfecting my long jump technique," said Coetzee.
He says he has quickly discovered that as a long jump athlete, progress takes time.
"However, the day everything connects, from your speed to your takeoff and flight, you will get a perfect jump. You need to be patient with yourself, and you need to train smart, not hard, and believe in yourself," said Coetzee.
Coetzee encouraged young athletes to put everything in the hands of God.
He urged them to believe in their abilities and be confident in themselves while not forgetting to work very hard to attain future goals. He said sports are the future and that athletes build great relationships together.
"Sports, especially athletics, help us stay disciplined and make us leaders; practicing sports encourages me to stay away from bad stuff."
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