Our circumstances do not define us, it is our determination and resilience that carve our destiny.

For the first time in the history of the iLembe Chamber gala dinner, a guest speaker received a standing ovation.

Paralympic gold medalist Mpumi Mhlongo (30) captivated the audience at The Capital Zimbali last Thursday with his remarkable life story.

Beginning with a traumatic birth and the difficulties of overcoming the deformity of his right foot, it was his mother who believed in him from the start, naming him Mpumelelo, meaning ‘success’.

His physical challenges were just the beginning, as he would face social exclusion on the playground and financial obstacles to his education.

Growing up in Klaarwater, his parents had little means, but they scraped together enough to send him to a public school in the suburbs from Grade 1.

Mhlongo was determined to set himself apart by being faster than everyone else. So in spite of, or perhaps because of, his deformity, he became a force to be reckoned with on the sports field.

He thrived in able-bodied sports, effortlessly making the A-teams in football, rugby, and cricket – often competing well above his age group.

He set his sights on attending Kearsney College but when his mother laughed at this ridiculous idea which she could in no way afford, he enrolled anyway planning to secure a sports scholarship.

Come the first term he put all his effort into outshining the competition, only to be struck with a severe blow. There were no more sport scholarships left for his year.

If he could not come up with the fees he would have to return home and attend a township high school.

A teacher then offered a lifeline: if he could achieve top grades, he might secure a corporate scholarship. The obstacle was enormous, and quite possibly insurmountable.

That same teacher tutored him in study strategies over the next few months, while he knuckled down and did the hard work.

Believing wholeheartedly that his future success would be determined by the outcome, he began to put the same effort into his academic work that had previously only been applied to the sports field.

His hard work paid off. Not only did he stay at Kearsney, but he also became head of house and led its acclaimed choir to gold at the 2012 World Choir Games.

His grades allowed him to secure a scholarship in chemical engineering studies at the University of Cape Town.

It was only then at university that he considered training for the Paralympic Games, having always considered himself an able-bodied sportsman.

The rest is history; he made his Paralympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games, bettered records at the Tokyo 2020 Games and smashed the lights out in France this year, coming home with a gold and a bronze medal.

Mhlongo, now working on a doctorate in converting plastic waste into energy, urged the iLembe business community to confront their obstacles head-on, turning their adversity into triumph.

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