Mpumelelo Mhlongo: My dream was just to have enough food

Mhlongo won gold in the T44 100m, bronze in the T64 200m, and broke world records in both the 200m, with a time of 22.62, and T44 long jump, with a jump of 7.12m. 

Born in the Chatsworth township in Durban, Mhlongo told SABC Sport how people from his hometown hardly dream of making it that far in life.

"I don't think people from my neck of the woods ever dream of being a Paralympic champions or a world record holder," said Mhlongo.

"My gran always laughs and tells this story to anyone who's willing to listen, to say that 'This child, when he was young enough at six, he said his biggest dream is that one day he's gonna drink water out of a glass bottle.

"'And the second dream was that his fridge will forever be full of food so anyone who wants to eat can come to his fridge.' So, no, these medals were never part of my dream, but I'm fortunate that the journey has taken us here."

Outside of athletics, Mhlongo is an ESG and Climate Risk Analyst at Investec, and also a Chemical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cape Town. 

He says his support system made it possible for him to achieve his goals.

"When you realise that the reason you are who you are now, is not just about you but it's my mother's sacrifices when I was a kid; It's about my gran's belief in me when nobody saw it," he added.

"It's about that one teacher who helped me convince the education system to keep me at a school like Kearsney College. It's about my coach who took me on before I was a world record holder.

“So, a lot of these records and accolades are not just Mpumelelo Mhlongo, there are all these individuals who had faith in me, and decided that I was somebody that was worth supporting. So, when I look back, that's who gets the credit."

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