Noemi Alphonse is a 25-year-old para-athlete from Mauritius. She has represented her country at many international events and competitions and now she can add the Queen’s Baton Relay to that list. Noemi was a Batonbearer during the visit to Mauritius and carried the Baton around the Mahebourg Waterfront.
Noemi was born with a limb deficiency and was fitted with a prosthetic leg when she was just eight months old, yet she managed to learn to walk when she was only nine months old. She started her sporting journey at the age of eight, when she took up judo to help her deal with the bullying she was experiencing.
She discovered para-sport when she was 19 and since then has made history as the first Mauritian para-athlete to have participated in a final of the Paralympic Games. Noemi competed in two events in the Tokyo Paralympics, during which she set a new African record in the T54 1500m. This accomplishment adds to the list of her achievements including eight national records and four area records. In 2019, Noemi was named Sports Personality of the Year and Female Para Athlete of the Year in the physical impairment category at the 2019 National Sports Awards in Mauritius.
She is a passionate about not letting disability hold anybody back and wants to improve the integration of sport and para-sport.
