PARALYMPICS 2024: Para-athlete Mpumelelo Mhlongo wins gold in 100m

JOHANNESBURG - Mpumelelo Mhlongo has won South Africa’s first medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

On Sunday evening, the Team SA flag bearer at the Paris Games dominated the men’s T44 100m when he won a gold medal in a time of 11.12, with the silver going to Silver Luis Vives Suares of Cuba in 11.20, and bronze to Eddy Bernard from Malaysia in 11.58.

This is Team South South Africa's first medal in Paris.

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Mhlongo 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.

The T44 athlete was born with amniotic band syndrome, which resulted in a clubfoot and his right leg being shorter than his left.

T44 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to single below-knee amputation, or an athlete who can walk with moderately reduced function in one or both legs.

The Investec-sponsored athlete is a multiple world championship medalist, a South African sprint and long jump athlete, and a Paralympic Games record holder. He won silver and bronze at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in the T44 men's 100-metre and long jump events.