Mpumelelo Mhlongo (born 1994) is a South African

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

athlete and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

record holder. Mhlongo won silver and bronze at the

2019 World Para Athletics Championships The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field event organised by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 7 to 15 November 2019 ...

in the T44 men's 100 metres and

events. Mlongo lives with

constriction ring syndrome Constriction ring syndrome (CRS) is a congenital disorder with unknown cause. Because of the unknown cause there are many different, and sometimes incorrect names. It is a malformation due to intrauterine bands or rings that give deep grooves in, ...

and a deformed

clubfoot Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...

Track and field career

Mhlongo has represented South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games, where he broke the T44 200m World Record and set the T44 200m, 100m, and long jump Paralympic Games records. His first Paralympic appearance was at the Rio 2016 Paralympics Games. His other representation in major championships include three World Championships and one World Games, since his debut in 2015. Mhlongo set his first ratified world record in 2019 at the Grosseto Grand Prix in the T44 Long Jump of 7.03m (+1.6 m/s), being the only T44 athlete to jump over the 7m mark. In the same year, he went on to win the silver and bronze medals in the 100m and long jump, respectively, another world record breaking performance. Mhlongo has two training bases, the primary-one in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, where he trains with Roger Haitengi and the secondary in Cape Town, where he trains with Jason Sewanyana. Mhlongo has been awarded the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Government Sportsman with a Disability in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In 2020, he was awarded the Western Cape Ministerial Commendation Award for his involvement in community programs that raised funds for the upliftment of disability sports in South Africa.

Social work

Mhlongo's first active involvement in the non-profit sector was in 2016, as an ambassador for Jumping Kids. He has since been named as the patron for the Chaeli Sports and Recreation Club (CSRC), which falls under the Chaeli Campaign, an organisation founded by Michaela Mycroft. In 2022, Mhlongo became the Clubfoot Champion Ambassador for Steps Clubfoot Care.

Personal life

Mpumelelo Mhlongo was born in

Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal Chatsworth is a large township (South Africa), township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa established in the 1950s to segregate the South African Indians, Indian population and create a buffer between the white suburbs of Durban to the north and the ...

, with a congenital deformity, constriction ring syndrome, and club foot. He grew up in Klaarwater, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Because of the decisions his parents took that allowed him to enrol in the public school system in the suburbs beginning in first grade, Mhlongo views his mother as the protagonist of his childhood. He was later placed at Kloof High School, which allowed him to continue his sporting ambitions and saw him share the award for the Junior Sportsman of the Year in his first year of high school. He received the Edwin Henwood Trophy during his matriculation, with several distinctions, including head of the world champion choir and head of House for Finningley House. In matric, he was awarded the Edwin Henwood Trophy. Mhlongo then received a scholarship and pursued his

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

studies at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. He was on the regular Dean's Merit list at the University of Cape Town and his achievements include winning Sportsperson of the Year five years in a row. He is currently studying for his doctorate in the conversion of

plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

into energy at the University of Cape Town. Mhlongo is multi-lingual and speaks six languages, including Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, English, French, and Portuguese.

Awards

* Sportsman with a Disability of the Year (2019) * SA Sports Award (2022) * Sportsperson of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mhlongo, Mpumelelo South African athletes Paralympic athletes for South Africa 1994 births Living people Alumni of Kearsney College University of Cape Town alumni Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships World Para Athletics Championships winners

Track and field career

Social work

Personal life

Sponsors

Awards

References