Sport has played an integral role in South Africa’s growth over the past 30 years, demonstrating its power to unite citizens, change attitudes, and afford anyone with sporting talent an opportunity to live the dream.
Few underline this principle more clearly than Mpumelelo Mhlongo, South Africa’s three times world record holding Paralympian, who currently holds world records for T44 long jump, T44 100m and T44 200m track events. Mhlongo will be one of the country’s flag-bearers at the Paralympics in Paris starting this Wednesday 28 August, and is one of the country’s hopes for a medal. In fact, he has a passionate goal to beat his own world records in the 100m, and long jump, at these games, something he attributes to his fierce determination to succeed on behalf of his country.
“I grew up in the township, where there was a lot of stigma around people with disabilities. I not only felt the brunt of being teased by other kids, but also being ostracised by family members,” he explains.
“However, thanks to sports, I became known as the fastest kid in the neighbourhood. In fact, I was often picked first, due to my speed, rather than being left out due to my disability. For me, this truly highlights the power of sports, in that it enabled me to help change the world for the better, just by doing what I love.”
The 30-year-old from Klaarwater in eThekwini competed in his first Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016. Since then, he has been instrumental in lobbying the International Paralympic Committee to revisit their classification rules, asking them to separate blade runners and jumpers from athletes like himself, who suffer from lower limb deficiencies.
Monique Atouguia, Mhlongo’s wife, fully supports him in his quest to be the best in his field and adds that his desire for success does not impede his focus on others.
“He cares deeply and is very passionate about the power that sport has and what it can do to help uplift communities. He recognises that it has genuinely transformed his own life, and he loves to share this deeply powerful and transformative approach with others, in the hopes of inspiring them, just as he himself was inspired,” Monique states.
Far from being merely a record-breaking athlete, Mhlongo is also currently pursuing his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. Moreover, he is multilingual and speaks six languages, including Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, English, French, and Portuguese.
Born with amniotic band syndrome, and a deformed club foot, he was nonetheless named Mpumelelo – which means ‘success’ – by his mother, Lungile Mthembu.
“When he started moving, despite the disability, this is the name that came to mind for me, because I could see that we were succeeding and getting somewhere. The little progress at the beginning has grown into this, where he is now representing his country. Clearly, naming him ‘Success’ was the right thing to do, as it has simply been success all the way since then,” adds Mthembu.
Mhlongo points out that there are a lot of people who have never met him, yet who have contributed to organisations that led to him being in the arenas where he was initially noticed.
“My partnership with Investec, and their help with the foundational pillars that are necessary in my build-up towards the 2024 Paris Paralympics, has been about not only demonstrating that one can be a contributor to society today, but equally, that investing in the future is just as vital.”
“From my perspective, I have been very fortunate, and I would like to pay this forward. The question for me has always been about how to best utilise what I have, and yet still deliver potential back into society. The partnership with Investec is the answer I was seeking, as this sponsorship has offered me the platform to do exactly that,” he says.
Peta Dixon, Head of Sponsorships at Investec adds that the company is extremely proud and privileged to support Mhlongo on his journey along the road to Paris 2024.
“Since we began sponsoring him, it has just been an absolute joy to watch him grow and develop, and to support him through all his training. He truly represents the best of our nation, and Investec shares the same pride in this son of South Africa as the rest of our country’s citizens do. We are proud of his abilities as an athlete, proud of his winning mentality and most of all, proud of someone who is just an all-round incredible human being,” concludes Dixon.
The dates and times for Mhlongo’s races at the Paris Paralympics are as follows:
- Saturday 31 August at 19:20: 100m round one
- Sunday 1 September at 19:30: 100m finals
- Wednesday 4 September at 20:35: long jump finals
- Saturday 7 September at 12:02: 200m round one
- Saturday 7 September at 19:50: 200m finals
