‘The only thing left for me was death’: meet the meth-addict long jumper who has been to hell and back

Three years ago Luvo Manyonga knew he must change his life or die. In Poland this week, the former world champion makes an extraordinary return to athletics’ top table

Sprawled prone in the dirt, the cold metal of a baseball bat cracking against his skull, spine and down to the legs that had once propelled him to glory, Luvo Manyonga experienced an epiphany. This existence could not continue; he must change his life or die.

Manyonga had been a drug addict for as long as he could remember, seeking recreational highs that provided the opposite of the performance-enhancing shortcuts that some of his deceitful athletics rivals might have pursued.