DURBAN’S Kearsney College has three former pupils participating in the Olympic Games, including Mpumelelo “Mpumi” Mhlongo, the flag bearer for Team SA at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
And in action today in the men’s hockey clash with The Netherlands are Nqobile ‘Bili’ Ntuli and Calvin Davis.
Mhlongo is a Paralympic Games record holder, a T44 world record holder in 100m, 200m and long jump, as well as the 2024 winner of Athletics SA’s Sportsman of the Year with a disability. Mhlongo is a hot medal hope for South Africa in the track and field medal field and is happy with his form in pre-Olympic events.
Together with swimmer Kat Swanepoel, he will be SA’s flag bearer at the Paralympic opening on Place de la Concorde and on Avenue des Champs-Elysees.
Mhlongo was born with a congenital deformity that left his right foot severely deformed, and the chance of amputation was strong. The development of his fingers was also affected, but he never let these physical challenges hold him back while growing up in Klaarwater, near Pinetown.
“Our circumstances do not define us; rather, it’s our determination and resilience that shape our destiny. When we break free from societal expectations and limitations, we can truly become champions,” is Mhlongo’s philosophy.
An exceptionally talented all-rounder and leader from an early age, Mhlongo was head of house at Kearsney, head of the College’s acclaimed choir when it won gold at the 2012 World Choir Games, captain of the second soccer team and he achieved Academic Honours cum laude, achieving seven distinctions in his final Independent Examination Board matric results.
He also speaks six languages — English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, French and Portuguese.
Mhlongo’s athletic training at the highest international level while completing his PhD was undertaken in tandem with raising awareness for those with disabilities, as well as seeking to improve the healthcare space in South Africa.
It resulted in him being recognised as a Young Mandela recipient for his lobbying of the International Paralympic Committee to revise their classification rules. He has succeeded in having blade runners and jumpers separated from people with lower limb deficiencies.
The Olympic field hockey tournament runs from yesterday to August 9 at Stade Yves-du-Manoir. The SA side is fresh from a bronze medal finish at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup in Poland.
South Africa is in Pool A at the Olympics and starts against The Netherlands and Great Britain. After a rest day, they take on Germany and Spain before rounding off the pool stages with a match against tournament hosts France.
Ntuli, who has 103 caps, was part of the SA squad in 2021 which shocked Germany in Tokyo. Playing in his second Olympics, he said the feeling “doesn’t get old”.
Davis received his first cap for the national team in January this year and was taken by surprise to make the Olympic team.
“It’s a great honour. I’m proud and thankful to everyone who has helped me grow as a player over the past few years. I had been looking at the 2028 Olympics as an opportunity, so this is such an amazing privilege. I’m excited to compete at the highest level and see what our team of experience and youth can do at the Games,” Davis said.