“I’ll take the gold though,” he said, draped in the South African flag.
Mhlongo had carried the flag in the opening ceremony as one of Team SA's two flag-bearers.
Mhlongo heard the national anthem played loudly in front of the packed stadium and afterwards did a jig of joy, jumping up and down on the podium at the medal ceremony.
It was certainly his moment. He had crouched in the blocks with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. The world record-holder was widely expected to win but expectation and delivery are two completely different things.
Mhlongo delivered, however, on the greatest stage in Paralympic sport.
“There is a difference on every occasion,” he said about his race.
“This time, with my wife in the stands, my mother here for the first time ever, and my mother-in-law. Having my family here is everything I could have asked for.”
Mhlongo gets SA’s first Paralympics medal, continues golden sprint streak
Sprinter hopes to open the medal floodgates for the country at the Games
South Africa has a new sporting hero. Step forward Mpumelelo Mhlongo, who delivered the country’s first medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Not only was he the first medallist but it was gold as he scorched to victory in the T44 100m final at Stade de France in Paris on Sunday night.
“I didn’t execute the race perfectly and at 60m I told myself 'I have to wake up'. But it’s job done. We got the gold and hopefully the floodgates will open,” said the 30-year-old Team SA athlete.
Mhlongo, who lives and works in Johannesburg, came into the final as the favourite. He delivered on that tag in front of an 80,000 crowd.
He led from start to finish in lane four to subdue the challenge thrown down by Cuban Yamel Vives Suarez and crossed the line in 11.12 seconds. Mhlongo holds the world record at 11.00 and admitted he had been in the type of form to scare that mark.
“I’ll take the gold though,” he said, draped in the South African flag.
Mhlongo had carried the flag in the opening ceremony as one of Team SA's two flag-bearers.
Mhlongo heard the national anthem played loudly in front of the packed stadium and afterwards did a jig of joy, jumping up and down on the podium at the medal ceremony.
It was certainly his moment. He had crouched in the blocks with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. The world record-holder was widely expected to win but expectation and delivery are two completely different things.
Mhlongo delivered, however, on the greatest stage in Paralympic sport.
“There is a difference on every occasion,” he said about his race.
“This time, with my wife in the stands, my mother here for the first time ever, and my mother-in-law. Having my family here is everything I could have asked for.”
On his preparations, he said: “It was a lot of hard work, dedication and listening to my coach. He would shout at me for not executing the race he wants. But the job is done and there are two more events to go.”
What happens next?
“It’s one step at a time. We did the 100 and got the job done. Time to recover and refocus as if it never happened and execute the plan we have been preparing for three years.”
Puseletso Mabote set himself up as a potential gold medallist when he equalled the Paralympic record, winning his T63 100m heat in 12.05sec to be fastest qualifier heading into the final.
He could add to South African men’s sprinting golden run of late, which has included 4x100m silver at the Olympics, 100m and 200m gold at the World Under-20 Championships and Mhlongo’s Paralympic gold.
Also involved in finals action on the evening was young high jumper Khumo Pitso, who finished fifth after a best leap of 1.98m in the men’s T24 competition, and long jumper Liezel Gouws, who placed eighth in the women’s T37 long jump with a leap of 3.62m.
RESULTS ROUNDUP: How Team SA fared on Sunday
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