Ntando Mahlangu: Paralympian hero brings hope to Mpumalanga village

Barely a decade ago, Ntando Mahlangu was crawling about hopelessly in the dusty backyard of his poor grandmother’s modest house in the former KwaNdebele homeland, about an hour’s drive northeast of Pretoria.

Today, the teenager born with no bones in his lower part of his legs – a condition called hemimelia – is not only South Africa’s latest Olympic star, but has also inspired people from his village of Tweefontein.

Nomaziyane Mthimunye, 67, who lives on the same street as the athlete’s family home, spoke in awe of Mahlangu, who won the gold medal in both the men’s long jump T63 and men’s 200 metres T61 at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Another neighbour, Mama Skosana, dressed in colourful Ndebele garb, waited patiently alone at Mahlangu’s deserted family home, hoping the young man would come straight home after landing at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday.

She had missed the bus taking people from Tweefontein to welcome Mahlangu and his teammates at OR Tambo but had hoped to catch up with them at Mahlangu’s family home.

Her hopes were dashed when she learnt that Mahlangu would not be coming home but was rather going to Pretoria where he now lives.

“I just wanted to see him and tell him how much we love and appreciate his achievements. I did not know anything about Olympics until Ntando participated, and I was glued to my TV screen every time he was participating. He is one of our own and his achievements are ours,” she said.

Skosana said Mahlangu’s use of distinct, colourful, and symmetric Ndebele art to decorate his participating prosthetic limbs demonstrated how proud he was of his roots and humble beginnings.

With a R450,000 financial incentive for each gold medal, Mahlangu, 19, will now also be laughing all the way to the bank with a cool R900,000.

His sporting achievements also open up other financial opportunities for the youngster, as big brands will surely want to be associated with Mahlangu’s impressive rise to athletics stardom.

siphom@citizen.co.za