By Theodore M.K. Viwotor
When paracyclists from across the continent gathered in Accra, Ghana to participate one of the qualifying series to the 2012 Olympics Games in London, United Kingdom, one person stood tall among his peers for demonstrating the spirit of determination and strong character.
Alem Mumuni, defending champion in the C2 category of paracycling race in Africa, outran his peers to win the discipline for the third time running.
To Alem Mumuni, winning is not the ultimate but rather a message to the world that determination in the face of challenges, yields great results. It is his belief that, all and sundry would give much more attention and support to the disabled to enable them contribute their quota to making life better for all.
Undaunted by his humble beginning and the great challenges he faced due to his disability, Alem Mumuni has risen to become a hero of our time and shining star to all persons with disabilities in Africa and beyond.
Born to peasant parents in the Garu -Tempane District of the Upper East Region of Ghana some 28 years ago, Alem Mumuni, who became disabled through poliomyelitis at the age of two, has really proven to the world today that disability is not inability.
He became disabled after walking normally for a year and had to crawl for 9 years before walking again with the aid of a wooden stick because clutches were not available for him at that time.
He was a member of the Ghana Amputee National Team, the Black Challenge, that won the first-ever African Cup of Nations in Sierra Leone in 2007 but failed to arrive in Turkey on time to take part in the World Cup the same year. Undaunted by the physical challenge, he took to cycling in which he has raised the flag of Ghana very high.
Alem won Gold for Ghana in the C2 Road Race Division of Para cycling in Niger in May 2009 under very interesting circumstances.
“There was no direct vehicle going from Accra to Niger; I was thus compelled to go through Togo, where commercial vehicles going to Niger refused to carry my bicycle. I had to hire a taxi to Benin where I boarded a Niger-bound vehicle. I spent 24 hours before reaching Niger and was able to register for participation on 24th May 2009, on the eve of the opening ceremony. That was after I had got sponsorship from one Mallam Issah Yahaya, a contractor,” he narrated.
“I went without spare parts for my bicycle and it suffered two deflations. However, I placed second in 10km in 14 minutes 41 seconds in the trials.” In September of the same year, he placed 7th at the World Championship in Italy, competing as the only black or African among participants from 41 countries. In 2010, he defended his title in Burkina Faso by winning the C2 Road Race again, thereby registering Ghana as a member of UCI.
“I have always been interested in cycling as a sport and have used it as a means to develop my fitness for football but there are limited opportunities in Ghana to compete in cycling. I have researched the sport of cycling thoroughly, found out what is required of me to reach a high level and have put in the work to train myself well. I think it is worthy, representing my country but more importantly acting as a role model for other people with a disability in Ghana and Africa as a whole,” he lamented.
Fortunately, Right to Dream, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has recruited Alem and other colleagues of him, who are now being trained and sponsored to participate in various competitions across the globe.
With his latest achievement, Alem Mumuni is training hard to once again lift the flag of Ghana high next year in the UK, when the Olympic games kick off.
