SA athlete facing fine for contravening lockdown regulations

News24
23 May 2020, 22:40 GMT+10

A South African long jumper has reportedly been charged for contravening coronavirus lockdown regulations, media reports said on Friday.

The 2017 world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, Luvo Manyonga, was ordered to pay a R2 500 admission of guilt fine or appear in court, AFP reported.

According to a police notice, Manyonga was charged under lockdown regulations for "failure to confine himself in his place of residence and public drinking", the reports said.

The written notice said Manyonga was caught at Thubelitsha Park in Kayamandi‚ Stellenbosch‚ on Wednesday, TimesLive and EWN reported.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said: "A 29-year-old man was given a notice to appear in court for contravening Disaster Management Act regulations on Wednesday."

The man, who she did not name, is expected to appear in court on 29 June.

According to AFP, Manyonga, who won the 2011 under-20 world championships, battled a crystal meth addiction which resulted in him being slapped with an 18-month ban from athletics in 2012.

He beat his addiction in 2015 and resumed competing.

Manyonga had his best season in 2017, pushing the South African record to 8.65m and then lifting the world crown in London.

He failed to defend his title in Doha last year, settling for fourth with a best jump of 8.28m.

News24's additional attempts to get comment from Manyonga's agency on Friday were unsuccessful.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kenya Star.

More Information

17 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Nairobi/Wilson

Africa

Section

Virginia City Removes 176-year-old Slave Auction Block

FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA - A 176-year-old slave auction block has been removed from a Virginia city's downtown.The 800-pound (363-kilogram) stone was ...

Vehicle dealerships gear up for spike in used-car sales

The extended lockdown has had a "devastating" impact on car dealerships, with the whole industry essentially having to "freeze" trade. ...

Floyd Death Pushes Military to Face 'Own Demons' on Race

WASHINGTON - The death of George Floyd in police hands has pushed the U.S. military to search its soul and ...

Trump Touts Decline in US Jobless Rate

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Donald Trump touted the news of a surprise decline in the country's unemployment rate Friday."We ...

Wandile Sihlobo | Good news for global grain supply

I've recently cautioned that dryness in parts of Europe and North America could lead to poor grain yields, which would ...

UNHCR: Help us protect the environment to protect refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, joins the U.N. Environmental Programme in observing World Environment Day today."Climate change and environmental issues ...