Nonhlanhla Mkumbuzi is a sports medicine researcher deep diving into the how to transform the fact that Female African athletes (and other systemically marginalised groups) are near invisible in sports science literature. In Nonhlanhla’s own words, “it's not ok and it needs to change.”
Her research emphasises the intersectionality of gender, race, socio-economics, culture, and biology inside the athletic performance and rehabilitation of female African athletes. She’s taking our stage, with the intention of inspiring action and changing the way female African athletes are viewed in sports.
We asked Nonhlanhla a couple of questions to help you get to know her, before she takes the TEDxCapeTown stage.
Your number one reason for wanting to give a TEDx talk this year.
To light a fire under people about the subject. I suppose on some level people probably know what I will talk about, but perhaps me standing on a stage and spelling it out might inspire some action, somewhere.
What do you hope to gain from this experience?
A different way of expressing myself and the ideas in my head; the ability to express myself to a wider audience.
What's your favourite non-alcoholic drink?
Water, but it has to be at a particular temperature -- not too cold that it freezes my teeth, not tepid, but cool enough to swig a whole glass in one go on a hot summer day.
Which fictional character do you wish you could meet?
Sherlock Holmes
If you could time travel, where would you go?
500 years into the future. I think of the advances that have been made by humankind in the past 500 years (think Galileo and his scrummy little telescope looking at Jupiter's moons, now we have The Hubble telescope and have rovers on Mars). Imagine where we will be in 500 years time? I want to see that.
