Is Ntando our new double amputee sprint ace?

He may only be walking for four years but double amputee Ntando Mahlangu is already taking giant leaps in South African track and field.

Credit: Independent Media

He may only be walking for four years but double amputee Ntando Mahlangu is already taking giant leaps in South African track and field. Picture by: Masi Losi

Boasting with four gold medals from the 2016 Nedbank National Championships for Physically Disabled, Mahlangu added the sub-youth 400m bronze medal at the national championships against able-bodied athletes on Saturday.

Comparisons to Oscar Pistorius is unavoidable as the youngster is making massive strides in a similar fashion to the now infamous blade runner.

Mahlangu was born with a condition known as hemimelia and in 2012 the decision was made to amputate both of his legs through the knee.

After spending most of his life in a wheelchair, Mahlangu made his first steps four years ago and has since adapted exceptionally well excelling in all sorts of sports.

At this year’s national championships for the physically disabled he set a 400m T42 World Record with a time of 53.19 seconds while also setting African Records in the 100m in 13.34, and 200m with 26.20.

He also won the 800m to accomplish a sweep of four gold medals while posting Rio Paralympics qualifying times in both the 100m and 200m.

Unlike his athletics idol, Pistorius, the youngster would not be able to participate in the 400m as the event is contested in his classification at the Games.

Winning the bronze at the weekend’s South African Sub-Youth, Junior and Under-23 Championships in Germiston had no extra significance for Mahlangu.

From a standing start Mahlangu almost has to throw himself out of the blocks before gaining forward momentum with a swinging motion of his blades.

In his heats and semi-finals he would start out slow before catching the rest of the field but in the final he went shoulder to shoulder with the leading runners.

The active teenager spends most of his time in his blades playing sports such as hockey at the Afrikaans language Constantia Park Primary School in Pretoria East.”

“I like running and playing soccer and with those feet (walking prosthetic legs) you can’t run and do those kind of things,” Mahlangu said.

“It is fun to play things like hockey so it is nice to do athletics and run and do normal things. When I was smaller I just wanted to run and I had a role model in Oscar Pistorius, I saw him and I just wanted to run.”

Recalling his first steps in the prosthesis Mahlangu said he was scared to take his first steps but within five days he was able to balance properly.

“I was a bit scared, the first time I got my legs I vomited, but it felt good to walk and do fun stuff that normal people can do,” Mahlangu said.

Mahlangu’s progression has been nothing short of spectacular smashing his personal best by more than two seconds when he won his heat on Friday with a time of 51.36 seconds.

In the semi-final he clocked 51.11 before bagging the bronze with a time a time of 50.08.

Jayson Weber claimed the title with a time of 48.64 with Lindokuhle Gora finishing in second place in 49.68.

The Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund, a non-profit organisation has been supporting Mahlangu since 2012 when they first fitted him withcarbon-fibre cheetah blades. - Independent Media

Share this post