It's important to swim your own race and not some-one else's, and that is exactly what this remarkable South African swimmer has been doing. Having competed at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998 as an able bodied athlete at the age of 14, she lost her leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001. Despite this setback, she was determined to compete at the Manchester Games both as an able bodied and disabled competitor just to prove it could be done. She achieved her goal, swimming into a creditable eighth place in the able bodied 800m Freestyle, and winning gold in the 50 and 100m Elite Athletes with a Disability (EAD) events. Since then, Natalie has become one of the most successful disabled athletes of all times and an inspiration to many.
Natalie has two major dreams at this stage:
- To be able to run, &
- To make it to the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Congratulations, Natalie. You have made it - read recent articles)
Her third dream; to visit the Kruger National Park, materialised last month when she had a wonderful week end at the Grand Kruger Lodge.
Natalie Du Toit would like to thank SPEEDO for their support and believing in her for the last decade....and taking her to Beijing Olympic Games 2008.
