Watch VideoBeyond the stopwatch: Mukona “Smiley” Manavhela carving his own track on the field

Mukona Manavhela, qualified for both the 100m and 200m in the World Athletics Under-20 Championships taking place in Oregon this week. The nickname came long before the medals. Mukona Manavhela was in Grade 3 playing rugby with a gap in his front teeth when a coach decided everyone in the team deserved a nickname.

He became “Smiley”. That nickname stayed with him long after the gap disappeared. Today, the smile remains, but what strikes you more is the quiet certainty behind it.

Spend an hour with the teenage sprinter and it quickly becomes apparent that he carries himself differently. He speaks thoughtfully, pauses before answering, and rarely reaches for the obvious response. He talks about setbacks with the same composure as success, about faith without preaching, and about ambition without sounding entitled.

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It is an unusual combination for someone whose biggest races may still lie ahead. Long before athletics became his calling, rugby was his world. Growing up in Polokwane, sport was simply part of everyday life.

Football in the streets, games inside the complex where he lived, and rugby on weekends shaped his childhood. Competition was everywhere. “I’ve always loved sport,” he says.

“When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional football player.” Rugby soon became the sport in which he excelled. His performances earned him a scholarship to Jeppe High School for Boys, one of South Africa’s traditional rugby powerhouses. Athletics was there too, but initially, it occupied the space between rugby commitments rather than replacing them.

For a while, it worked. Then athletics began asking questions that rugby could no longer answer. His sprint times dropped dramatically.

At the same time, rugby dealt him a cruel lesson. Having earned selection to a provincial training squad, he suffered an ankle ligament injury that forced him to confront a reality every athlete eventually faces: talent alone cannot protect you from disappointment. The injury became a turning point rather than an ending.

Looking back, he believes it helped him make a decision that had already begun forming in his mind. Athletics was no longer something he did alongside rugby. It had become the path he wanted to follow.

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