A Truly Inspiring Athlete( Ashy Docs 17 October 2010)

8/8/2019 A Truly Inspiring Athlete( Ashy Docs 17 October 2010)

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A truly inspiring athlete

Natalie Du Toit's story is truly inspiring. She first represented South Africa

internationally at the age of 14. In 2001 she had to have her left leg amputated at theknee after a traffic accident, but far from letting this stop her, at the age of 24 she has

gone on to be the first amputee to qualify for the able bodied Olympics since 1928!

Natalie competed in the 10km women's swimming marathon at the Beijing OlympicGames. Did you see her carrying the flag for South Africa at the OpeningCeremony?

Natalie also competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, where she defended the

five gold and one silver she won at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.

What does Natalie du Toit do when she's not

swimming?

Natalie has been studying sports management, and is keen about community service.

She participates in a long distance charity swim each year that raises money to helpout schoolchildren who need important equipment. She is also involved in helping the

Cancer Association in Cape Town. For more details, check out herOfficial Website.
http://www.nataliedutoit.com/http://www.nataliedutoit.com/


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Tumble Turn - Natalie Du Toit's story by Tracey Hawthorne

Natalie du Toit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Natalie du Toit

Nationality South Africa

Stroke(s) Butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke

Date of birth January 29, 1984

Place of birth Cape Town, South Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_strokehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Townhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_strokehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town


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Medal record[show]

Competitor for South Africa

Women's Swimming

Commonwealth Games

Gold 2002Manchester 50 m freestyle EAD

Gold2002

Manchester100 m freestyle EAD

Gold 2006 Melbourne 50 m freestyle EAD

Gold 2006 Melbourne 100 m freestyle EAD

Gold 2010 Delhi 50 m freestyle EAD

Paralympic Games

Gold 2008 Beijing 50 m freestyle S9

Gold 2008 Beijing 100 m freestyle S9

Gold 2008 Beijing 400 m freestyle S9Gold 2008 Beijing 100 m butterfly S9

Gold 2008 Beijing200 m individual medley

SM9

Gold 2004 Athens 50 m freestyle S9



Gold 2004 Athens 100 m butterfly S9

Gold 2004 Athens200 m individual medley

SM9

Silver 2004 Athens 100 m backstroke S9

Natalie du Toit (born January 29, 1984) is a South Africanswimmer. She is best

known for the gold medals she won at the2004 Paralympic Games as well as the

Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the2008

Summer Olympicsin Beijing; the other being table tennis playerNatalia Partyka.[1]

Du Toit became the first amputee ever to qualify for theOlympics, where she placed

16th in the 10K, "Marathon", swim.[2][3]

Early life

Natalie was born inCape Town, South Africa and attended Wynberg Girls' High

School. She began competing internationally in swimming at the age of 14. In

February 2001 her left leg was amputated at the knee after she was hit by a car while

riding herscooterback to school after swimming practice.[4] Three months later,

before she had started walking again, she was back in the pool with the intention ofcompeting in the2002 Commonwealth Games. Du Toit swims without the aid of a

prosthetic limb.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_(sport)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimmerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimmerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Paralympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Paralympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Townhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Townhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynberg_Girls'_High_Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynberg_Girls'_High_Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynberg_Girls'_High_Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amputationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooter_(motorcycle)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_(sport)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimmerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Paralympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Townhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynberg_Girls'_High_Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynberg_Girls'_High_Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amputationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooter_(motorcycle)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Commonwealth_Games


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She completed her scholastic education at theReddam House in Cape Town after

which she studied for a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Cape Town,

specializing ingenetics andphysiology. In her free time she does motivational

speaking.

Swimming career

Du Toit first competed internationally at the age of 14, when she took part in the1998

Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. During the 2002 Commonwealth Games in

Manchester, Du Toit, who was then 18 years old, won both the multi-disability 50 m

freestyle and the multi-disability 100 m freestyle in world record time. She also made

sporting history by qualifying for the 800 m able-bodied freestyle final - the first time

that an athlete with a disability had qualified for the final of an able-bodied event. At

the closing of the Manchester Commonwealth Games, she was presented with the first

David Dixon Award for Outstanding Athlete of the Games.

In 2003, competing against able-bodied swimmers, Du Toit won gold in the 800

metres freestyle at theAll-Africa Games as well as silver in the 800 metres freestyle

and bronze in the 400 metres freestyle at theAfro-Asian Games.

She narrowly missed qualifying for theOlympics inAthens in 2004, but during the

Paralympics that were held in the same city, she won one silver and five gold medals.

In the same year, her courage and achievements were acknowledged with a

nomination for the Laureus World Sportspersonof the Year 2004 with Disability

Award. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games she repeated her previous performance by

winning the same two golds as she had in Manchester. In 2006 Du Toit also won six

gold medals at the fourth IPC World Swimming Championships, finishing thirdoverall in a race which included 36 males and 20 females.

On 3 May 2008, Du Toit qualified for the 2008Beijing Olympics after finishing

fourth in the 10 km open water race at the Open Water World Championships in

Seville, Spain. Her time was only 5.1 seconds off the winner in a race that made its

first Olympic appearance in Beijing.[5] At the Beijing Olympicswomen's 10 km race,

she finished in 16th place, 1:22.2 minutes behind the winner. She also took part in the

2008 Summer Paralympics, winning 5 Gold Medals.[6]

[edit] 2008 Olympic and Paralympic openingceremonies

South Africa's Olympic Committee chose Du Toit to carry their flag at the2008

Summer Olympics opening ceremony, making her the first athlete to carry a flag in

both Olympics and Paralympics in a single year.[7]

[edit] Major sporting achievements

100 m S9 butterfly swimming gold medal - Commonwealth Games (2010)

50 m S9 freestyle swimming gold medal - Commonwealth Games (2010) 50 m S9 freestyle swimming gold medal - Paralympics (2008)

400 m S9 freestyle swimming gold medal - Paralympics (2008)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddam_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddam_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_degreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cape_Townhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dixon_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Africa_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Africa_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Asian_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Asian_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville,_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Women's_marathon_10_kilometrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Women's_marathon_10_kilometrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natalie_du_Toit&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Committeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natalie_du_Toit&action=edit&section=4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddam_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_degreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cape_Townhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dixon_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Africa_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Asian_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Gameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville,_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Women's_marathon_10_kilometrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natalie_du_Toit&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Committeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Paralympics_opening_ceremonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natalie_du_Toit&action=edit&section=4


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200 m SM9 individual medley swimming gold medal - Paralympics (2008)


100 m S9 butterfly swimming gold medal - Paralympics (2008)

100 m freestyle swimming EAD (multi-disability) gold Commonwealth

Games (2006)

50 m freestyle swimming EAD (multi-disability) gold - CommonwealthGames (2006)

100 m S9 backstroke swimming silver medal Paralympics (2004)

100 m S9 butterfly swimming gold medal - Paralympics (2004)


200 m SM9 individual medley swimming gold medal - Paralympics (2004)



800 m freestyle swimming gold medal - All-Africa Games (2003)

800 m freestyle swimming silver medal - Afro-Asian Games (2003)

400 m freestyle swimming bronze medal - Afro-Asian Games (2003)

David Dixon Award for outstanding athlete Commonwealth Games (2002) 100 m freestyle swimming EAD (multi-disability) gold Commonwealth

Games (2002)

50 m freestyle swimming EAD (multi-disability) gold - Commonwealth

Games (2002)

Awards and honours

In August 2002 she was awarded the Western Cape Golden Cross. During the award

ceremony Western Cape PremierMarthinus van Schalkwyksaid she had gone

"beyond gold and swam her way into the hearts of not only South Africans but thewhole world".[8]

Du Toit was voted 48th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004 by theSouth

African Broadcasting Corporation.

In December 2009 she received theOrder of Ikhamanga in Gold "for her exceptional

achievements in swimming."[9]

On 10 March 2010, she was awarded the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year

with a Disability for "breaking down the barriers between disabled and able-bodied

sport".[10]

References

1. ^ Two Paralympians competed in Olympics, oandp.com; retrieved 2009-08-15.

2. ^ Dreams carry Natalie Du Toit to Beijing - Olympics News - Telegraph

3. ^ George Eyser, who had a wooden leg, competed at the1904 Summer Olympics; thecircumstances of Eyser's participation in the Games are unknown. Poland'sNatalia

Partykaalso competed at both the Olympics and the Paralympics in Beijing, in tabletennis.

4. ^ Official site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dixon_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marthinus_van_Schalkwykhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABC3's_Great_South_Africanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Ikhamangahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Ikhamangahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-0http://www.oandp.com/articles/2008-10_06.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-1http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/04/sbswim104.xmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eyserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eyserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-3http://www.nataliedutoit.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dixon_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marthinus_van_Schalkwykhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABC3's_Great_South_Africanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Ikhamangahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureus_World_Sports_Awardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-0http://www.oandp.com/articles/2008-10_06.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-1http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/04/sbswim104.xmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eyserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Summer_Olympicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partykahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-3http://www.nataliedutoit.com/


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5. ^ ESPN report

6. ^ "Du Toit to make history at Games", BBC, June 13, 2008

7. www.nataliedutoit.com8.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-4http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/swimming/news/story?id=3379722http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-5http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/swimming/7386893.stmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-4http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/swimming/news/story?id=3379722http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_ref-5http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/swimming/7386893.stm

Documents

A Truly Inspiring Athlete( Ashy Docs 17 October 2010)