Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
"When we are free to move, anything is possible."
Ntando Mahlangu spent the first 10 years of his life in a wheelchair.
At age 10, he attended a mobility clinic and met with physicians to discuss the possibility of wearing prosthetics. He was told that he would require a bilateral through-knee amputation for the prosthetics to fit and function well. For Ntando, the choice was an easy one.
“I was 10 and had never walked before, so when they said there was an option for me to walk and run, I told my family that I wanted the amputation so that could happen.”
Within four years, he would earn a place on the South African Paralympic team. At just 14-years-old – one of the youngest competitors at the 2016 Paralympic Games – he finished second behind defending champion Richard Whitehead in the men’s 200m T42, setting a new African record (23.77) in the process. Ntando is expected to represent South Africa at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.
"When we are free to move, anything is possible."
Ntando Mahlangu spent the first 10 years of his life in a wheelchair.
At age 10, he attended a mobility clinic and met with physicians to discuss the possibility of wearing prosthetics. He was told that he would require a bilateral through-knee amputation for the prosthetics to fit and function well. For Ntando, the choice was an easy one.
“I was 10 and had never walked before, so when they said there was an option for me to walk and run, I told my family that I wanted the amputation so that could happen.”
Within four years, he would earn a place on the South African Paralympic team. At just 14-years-old – one of the youngest competitors at the 2016 Paralympic Games – he finished second behind defending champion Richard Whitehead in the men’s 200m T42, setting a new African record (23.77) in the process. Ntando is expected to represent South Africa at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.
