August 05 2002 at 10:05PM

	By Gustav Thiel

Hundreds of people are expected to throng Cape Town International Airport on Tuesday afternoon to welcome swimmer Natalie du Toit home from the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Her matric class from Reddam House will be there to meet her at 3pm, as will her parents Dawid, 48, and Deirdre, 47, and her older brother, Andre, 21.

Du Toit was voted the most outstanding athlete in Manchester and was dubbed by British and South African media as the “darling of the Games” after winning gold medals in the multi-disability 50-metre and 100-metre freestyle events. But for Natalie her biggest achievement was making the 800m final for able-bodied swimmers.

Du Toit lost her lower left leg in a scooter accident in 2001 but returned to the pool within months. She has won international recognition for her efforts and her courage.

When Du Toit gets home, she will take a well-deserved rest with her parents in Southfield, then travel to Egypt to take part in a 5km open-water race down the Nile.

Mrs Du Toit said on Monday she was as proud of the way her daughter had handled herself as a woman standing on her own as she was of her victories.

“Natalie has always been very determined,” she said.

Mr Du Toit works as a foreman on site visits to South Africa’s Antarctic weather station, Sanae.

“It’s heavy to be away from the family so much and now Natalie is away quite often. But I think we are all doing well.”

The parents tell of a child who decided at a very young age to become a swimmer. She excelled at the sport and always took an interest in water polo, netball and playing the piano.

“Mostly she was interested in swimming,” Mr Du Toit said. “She had a dream of winning a scholarship to an American university, but her accident changed that.”

Referring to the woman who collided with Natalie’s scooter, Mr Du Toit said: “It would be nice if she could accept our invitation to visit us and talk to Natalie.”