Kerwin Noemdo’s social media pages display a man who seems to have a good life. A mass of friends, supportive parents, and a strong relationship with God. Yet, there is much more that differentiates him from other people. Noemdo’s outlook on life has helped him achieve more in a few years than what others achieve in a lifetime.
“People usually ask me how it [feels] to only have one hand, to me it feels completely normal.” 25-years-old Kerwin Noemdo has done it all. Graduated with a degree from a prestigious university, represented his country in an international sports event but more so, lived a life that many can only dream of. Much of his success, however, can be attributed to his powerful outlook on life.
Growing up with one hand
Noemdo’s story begins a few months after his birth on 12 September 1994. Doctors noticed that Noemdo had a congenital defect. His right hand was under-developed, caused by his umbilical cord having been wrapped around his wrist. As a result, his right arm was amputated below the elbow.
As the youngest son of Leon and Milinda Noemdo, he grew up and spent his entire childhood in Bellville, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.
“I think I grew up reasonably privileged. My parents sacrificed a lot to provide a certain lifestyle for my brother and I,” he said. Noemdo attributed his childhood joy to his very close-knit sporting family.
“I was the youngest of the five [cousins], so whenever we were playing sports outside, I would always get bullied, but I guess that made me always strive to be better,” said Noemdo. As his amputation occurred very early on in life, Noemdo grew up unaware of what life was like with both hands.
Noemdo enjoyed his primary school years at Excelsior Primary School, especially his involvement in sports.
“Once the kids get to see you do that, they start to accept you as just as anyone else,” he said. Noemdo attended Paul Roos Gymnasium, where he was an avid rugby player, as the school’s 2nd XV fullback.
“At first, I was judged. I guess people didn’t understand why I was going to rugby trials,” said Noemdo. Despite the glares and comments, Noemdo still threw himself into sport and continued to excel.
“As the years went on, I did everything they did, and people started to accept me for who I am,” he said. After matriculating, Noemdo enrolled in Conservation Ecology at Stellenbosch University, where he graduated in 2017. His athletic career however, started long before then.
The journey to becoming a South African athlete
In 2007, at the age of 13, Noemdo was approached to try out for the para-athletics team.
“At the time, it was known as Sport for the Physically Disabled and obviously, I didn’t see myself as disabled, so I hesitated,” said Noemdo. It was only when they approached him again in 2008 that he considered it. Although Noemdo had always taken part in shotput on an interschool level, it wasn’t until 2010 that he started taking it seriously.
“I was still doing rugby in winter, but I started focusing more on my throws than other events in para-sport because that was where I did best,” he said. To focus on his shotput career, Noemdo stopped taking part in other sports.
“It was a [hard] challenge, but I knew why I was doing it and that just made it easier for me to focus on athletics,” said Noemdo. Once he started developing as an athlete, the sport started taking a toll on him physically.
“There were times where I wanted to put on my rugby boots and play touchies with some friends, but obviously the risk that comes with it is much bigger than staying injury free.”
“I don’t think many people realise how technical throwing is. Throwing can get very tedious,” he said. In addition, Noemdo had to sacrifice a lot to ensure that his performance was not affected.
“There were times where I wanted to put on my rugby boots and play touchies with a few mates, but obviously the risk that comes with it is much bigger,” said Noemdo. In the end, the sacrifices allowed him to excel in the para-athletics scene.
In 2011, during his Grade 11 year in high school, Noemdo attended the International World Amputee Sports (IWAS) games that were held in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.
“My journey until then was pretty smooth. I don’t think I really understood how much work I put in to get there,” he said. Although the 2011 games were an amazing experience, Noemdo felt that one of his biggest accomplishments was being selected for the South African para-athletics team to attend the World Para Athletics Championships in 2013 at the age of 19.
“I always wanted to represent my country, so when I got to wear the green and gold for the first time, I was beyond ecstatic,” said Noemdo. Although his career was looking up, Noemdo hit a stumbling block in his journey.
Noemdo did not qualify for the 2015 World Championship.
“I think that [was] quite a big blow on me because I was in much better shape and much better condition than I was in 2013, so I thought I would definitely be going,” he said. Nevertheless, Noemdo was taught a valuable lesson.
“[It] was quite a tough pill to swallow and being so young at the time, you get that moment where you think ‘is it really worth it to carry on with athletics?’,” said Noemdo.
Family support and the impact of Covid-19
One of Noemdo’s biggest goals was to attend the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This goal, however, was cut short.
“In parasport, you have different classes [and] my class never had discus or shotput in the 2016 games, so I had no chance to go,” said Noemdo. The incident made him question if he should continue with the sport and was aggravated by the current situation of parasports in the country.
“In South Africa, parasport isn’t as big as it should be, so I was thinking to myself ‘why don’t I just stop athletics, wrap my degree up and go work’,” he said. Noemdo however, didn’t give up on the sport he loved.
“If your why is bigger than your what, you’ll always find a way to get through,” he said.
“I always wanted to represent my country and when I got to wear the green and gold for the first time, I was beyond ecstatic.”
In addition, Noemdo had the support of his family pushing him through the trials and tribulations of para-athletics and life.
“The role my parents have played in my sporting career is one of continuous support,” said Noemdo. Noemdo’s parents have always backed him through all his endeavours, goals and dreams, he said. They often sacrificed their own interests for their son’s.
“I can only hope that one day I am in a position where I can give back to them in the way they gave to me,” said Noemdo. His parents have also supported him during the global pandemic when Noemdo’s sporting career was greatly impacted. Prior to the pandemic, Noemdo was intending on competing in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
“The Covid-19 pandemic affected my initial year plans quite drastically because I decided early in the year that I was going to focus just on athletics and do it full time to compete in Tokyo,” he said. As a result, Noemdo stopped his studies.
“Coming from a background where we were not that well off, to give up my studies to focus on athletics, was quite tough for [my parents],” said Noemdo. As his athletics career was put on pause, Noemdo decided to enrol in an online diploma course that was in line with his field of studies, environmental quality assessment and monitoring.
“It was tough to hear that the games are going to be postponed for one year because I put everything on hold to focus on it. I understand the reasoning behind it,” he said. Noemdo plans on competing in the Paralympic in 2021.
“I have a saying – same fate, different date. Although it’s Tokyo 2021 and not Tokyo 2020, I still believe that I can have the same outcome, it’s just a different date.”