It was a family affair as Mpumelelo Mhlongo powered to victory in the men’s T44 100m final in the Paris Paralympics on Sunday.
Mhlongo won the race in 11.12 seconds, ahead of Cuba’s Yamel Vives Suarez (11.20) and Malaysian Eddy Bernard (11.58).
Mhlongo is also the world record holder in the 100m, 200m and long jump as he delivered on his favourites tag in a magical evening for the athlete.
It was made all that more special as he had three members of his family in the stadium.
🥇 GOLD for Mpumelelo Mhlongo! 🥇
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) September 1, 2024
Mpumelelo takes the Men’s 100m T44 Final in a season-best time of 11.12 seconds! ⚡️ A brilliant race for a brilliant athlete. Let’s celebrate this incredible achievement together! 💥![CDATA[]]>🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #MpumeleloMhlongo #Gold pic.twitter.com/jWpPlqIbXo
‘Everything I could have asked for’
“There is a difference on every occasion,” Mhlongo told the Team SA website.
“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.”
In other Team SA athletes in action in the evening in the men’s 100m T63 heats, Puseletso Mabote equalled the Paralympic record of 12.05 as he qualified for the final with the fastest time.
Khumo Pitso, meanwhile, finished fifth in the men’s T24 high jump with a best height of 1.98m.
Liezel Gouws finished eighth in the women’s T37 long jump with a distance of 3.62m.
Full Team SA results
Archery
Men’s individual W1, 1/8 stage: *9 Shaun Anderson beat *6 Tigit Aydin (Turkey) 133-132 (26-23, 51-50, 77-80, 104-106, 133-132)
Men’s individual W1, quarter-final: *9 Shaun Anderson lost to *1 Tianxin Zhang (China) 136-134 (28-27, 56-55, 80-80, 108-107, 134-136)
Athletics
Women’s 1500m, T11 round one: Louzanne Coetzee finished 2nd in her heat in 4:45.25, a season’s best, to qualify for the final 2nd fastest
Women’s discus, F64 final: Yane van der Merwe didn’t measure a distance
Men’s 100m, T44 final: Gold - Mpumelelo Mhlongo won the gold medal in 11.12sec
Men’s high jump, T47 final: Khumo Pitso finished 5th with a best leap of 1.98m
Men’s 100m, T64 heats: Paul Daniels finished 4th in an area record 11.23sec and just missed out on the final, placing 9th overall
Men’s 100m, T64 heats: Daniel du Plessis finished 7th in his heat in 11.75 for 14th overall
Men’s 100m, T63 heats: Puseletso Mabote equalled the Paralympic record when he won his heat in 12.05sec to be fastest qualifier heading into the final
Women’s long jump, T37 final: Liezel Gouws finished 8th with a best leap of 3.62m
Wheelchair Tennis
Men’s singles, second round: Alwande Sikhosana lost to Daisuke Arai (Japan) 6-1 6-0
Quad Doubles, semi-finals: Daniel Ramphadi and Lucas Sithole lost to 1 Sam Schroder and Niels Vink (Netherlands) 6-1 6-1.