SA’s Own Rope Jumping Champion, Sonopo, Jumps to Success

The excitement awaits as Tshilwane is preparing for the African Championships to be held in Pretoria South Africa, on the 5^th-8^th of October. We all at the FSSSI wish Tshilwane the best of luck competing at this extraordinary level.

Be sure to not skip this one! Tshilwane Johannes Sonopo, AKA ‘Sony Da Jumper’ sure never missed a chance to skip his way to the top. His journey started in 2009. In 2017 he started training with Elmie Labuschagne as his fitness trainer and sports scientist at the Free State Sports Institute while preparing for the World Jump Rope Championships in Florida the top five in one of his speed events. Today with 13 years of achievements, he is still training at the FSSI since 2017 and is on the verge of representing South Africa along with other athletes at the African Championships in Pretoria, competing in individual events. This particular competition will be regarded as a trial for the 2023 World Championships in Colorado Springs USA.

A Little bit of Tshilwane’s history:

Tshilwane was born on April 8, 1993, in Qwaqwa, Free State. He has a diploma in Management Assistant and a higher certificate in sport, recreation and fitness management. After dominating the junior level, Tshilwane won 2 golden and 1 silver medal during the Pretoria nationals in October 2013. In 2013, he claimed a record, winning a level 5 title with a Gold medal at the National Championships held in Durban. He was then selected as part of the team representing South Africa at the FISAC 2016 Rope Skipping World Championships Open Tournament in Malmo Sweden where he won his first International Bronze medal in the category of triple under.

This was only the beginning. In 2017 Tshilwane competed at the Arnold Classics Africa in Sandton ZA, where he received 1 bronze medal. Another 5^th position at Speed Masters Level, at the World Championships in the USA. In 2018, 4 more gold medals followed after winning 2 at the Arnold Classics Africa in Sandton and 2 at the National Championships. 2019 was a great year for Tshilwane. He got 1 Bronze medal at the World Jump Rope Championships in Norway, but that wasn’t all. After breaking a record of 4800-speed steps in 21 minutes at the China Open Tournament, he walked away with 2 Bronze medals as well as a Silver Cup. In 2021 Tshilwane competed at the International Jump Rope Union World Championship held in Cape Town and made the Top 10 in the Speed Relay. Another silver medal was reeled in at the National Championships in South Africa.