Natalie du Toit and her athletic career ( Part 2)
One of the best swimmers in the history of the modern swimming arena and a great role model for all those who are kept from being a part of any sport because of a disability. The achievements of the great South African swimmer up to the year 2006 have been
elaborated in the previous edition of this article. Her great performances were amazingly summarised by the Premier of Western Cape Marthinus van Schalkwyk at the award ceremony in 2002 when he said, “She (Natalie) had gone beyond gold and swam her way into
the hearts of not only South Africans but the whole world.”
After the IPC World Swimming Championships, Natalie participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This time she was more than enthusiastic to qualify for the great event, and she did. She was made a part of the South African swimming squad after she finished
in the fourth spot in the 10 km open water meet at the Open Water World Championships that took place in the Spanish city of Seville.
Natalie finished the race just 5.1 seconds slower than the winner of the race. The winner of this race made his debut performance of the Olympics at Beijing that year. Natalie finished the women’s 10 km race at the Beijing Olympics in the 16th
spot. The winner of the race concluded the meet 1 minute and 22.2 seconds ahead of Natalie. Natalie then headed to the 2008 Summer Paralympics after the Beijing Olympics and brought home five gold medals at the event.
On the basis of her great contributions to Swimming South Africa, the South Asian Olympic Committee nominated Natalie as the flag bearer at the 2008 Summer Olympics spectacular opening ceremony. She also has the honour of being the first athlete to have
carried the flag on the Olympics and then the Paralympics in the same year.
The year that followed, she was adorned with the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold. She was presented this special honour “for her exceptional achievements in swimming.”
Most of the awards that are given to Natalie are because she is the first disabled athlete who has qualified to almost all the events which are open to able-bodies athletes. She has always shown determination in the sport and never let her disability come
in the way of her success and goals. Earlier this year, Natalie du Toit was presented the Laures World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability once again. The representatives of the Award appreciated her achievements by saying, “This award is being given
to Natalie for breaking down the barriers between disabled and able-bodied sports.”
In the recent Commonwealth Games New Delhi, the great swimmer once again bagged two gold medals and once again made her team and fans proud of her performance. The gold medals that she won were in the 100 metre S9 (sprint) butterfly event and the 50 metre
S9 (sprint) freestyle event.
Now that the Delhi Games have concluded, Natalie commended the efforts of the organizers of the Games. She also highly appreciated the Indians for their hospitality during the multi-sport event. Team South Africa returned home with 33 Games medals, occupying
the fifth spot on the medal tally. Out of these 33, 12 medals were gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze. 16 medals won by the team were in the discipline of swimming. Natalie on the other hand was extremely pleasant with the three Games medals that she won in New
Delhi, including two gold.
She said, “I thought the Games went of very, very well. Before we got to the village I think our chef de Mission had sorted most of the problems out and the security was amazing, the facilities were absolutely beautiful. Everything was stepped up. I think
they pulled off a really good Games.”
The 26 year old swimmer has a long list of credentials so far and is yet determined to make a lasting impact in the sport.
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