HEROES OF 2021

‘WHEN WE ARE FREE TO MOVE, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE’

THIS year wasn’t easy. The pandemic proved it’s going nowhere, there was load-shedding, the petrol price skyrocketed and the July riots will go down as one of the darkest periods in the country’s history.

But if there’s one thing about South Africans, it’s that we really know how to find inspiration on even the darkest of days. For every story of despair, sadness or loss there was another of triumph, resilience and achievement.

Here are some South Africans who have inspired us this year.

SPORTS

NTANDO MAHLANGU

Until he was 10, Ntando couldn’t walk and feared he’d spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair – now the plucky teenager is one of the most inspiring Paralympic athletes on the planet, with two gold medals to prove it.

The 19-year-old blade runner and jumper leapt into the hearts of South Africans when he set the world record in the men’s long jump at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. He followed this up with another gold medal in the men’s 200m and cemented his status as a national