The Tuks high jump athlete, Chris Moleya, finished third last night jumping 2.22m in Buhl, Germany.

What excites his coach, Hugo Badenhorst, is his consistency while competing in Europe. Four weeks ago he won in Rheinau-Freistett jumping 2.27m. It rates him as one of South Africa's best high jumpers ever. 

Only three local athletes have managed to go higher. Moleya and Gavin Lendes are currently jointly fourth on South Africa's all-time list. No other local athlete was able to jump 2.27m over the last 10 years.

Badenhorst confidently predicts that Moleya is capable of going higher. 

"There are only a few small things in his technique that I need to sort out. Once that is done, there is no telling how high he is going to jump.

"As far I am concerned Chris is as talented as the former world champion, Jacques Freitag, was if not more. What impresses me about Chris is his self-believe. He has set himself specific goals, and he is going to achieve all of it. But I don't want him to be under pressure. The plan is that he should only be at his best in 2024."

 Since 2015  Moleya has managed to improve his personal best by five centimetres. His immediate goal is to jump 2.30m. 

"My coach, Hugo Badenhorst, keeps on telling me that I got real talent and that I should make the most of it. I know there is a big jump that is just waiting to happen. When it is, I don't know. I just need to keep on being positive. On a good day, I might even jump 2.35m. But then again I don't want to get obsessed about jumping a specific height."

Moleya grew up in Zebediela in the Limpopo. Like most of his friends, he was at first an avid football player who also participated in athletics.

"I started competing as a high jumper when I was 13 years old. Four years later, I won the first national title that changed everything for me," said Moleya.