Du Toit living Olympic dream

2008-08-08 10:46

Beijing - Natalie du Toit opened a new chapter in her remarkable story when she was handed the honour of carrying the South African flag at Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The swimmer, whose left leg was amputated in 2001, has become an inspirational figure for disabled athletes around the world.

"Natalie was the obvious choice for Team South Africa, and this appointment has received the full support of the managers in Beijing," said team manager Hajera Kajee.

"She is an indomitable young athlete, and her carrying the flag will also be in celebration all South African women, as we celebrate Women's Day tomorrow (Saturday)."

Du Toit, who first competed in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, was riding her scooter in her home city of Cape Town seven years ago when a traffic accident led to her left leg being amputated.

But seven long years of struggle have finally seen the 24-year-old realise her goal of appearing at an Olympic Games.

"It's been a dream of mine since I was six, so it's great to be here," she told AFP before being announced as South Africa's flag-bearer.

"When I race here, and it's over, I think that's when the whole effect will take place," the first female amputee to qualify for the Olympics added.

Only a year after her accident, du Toit took two gold medals in multi-disability freestyle sprint events at the Commonwealth Games.

But that didn't satisfy Du Toit, who refused to let her handicap act as barrier to swimming against able-bodied athletes.

After narrowly missing out on qualification for the Athens Olympics four years ago, the multiple Paralympic gold medallist, is gunning for a podium place in the new Games event of the marathon swim.

Du Toit, who booked her Beijing spot with a fourth-place finish at May's World Championships in Seville, added: "There are one or two people I didn't race against in Seville.

"I have raced against them in the past and they have beaten me, but I did an extreme amount of training. Hopefully, it pays off."

Du Toit will also be staying in China to compete in the Paralympics, where she is entered in six events, one more than Athens.

"I think the Paralympics are just as important as the Olympics for me. They mean a lot."

Her compatriot Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee sprinter, failed to qualify for the 400 metres after being cleared to run by athletics' world governing body, the IAAF, following a lengthy legal dispute.

Du Toit said she hoped their stories gave others hope.

"I think it's just to inspire everybody, disabled or not disabled.

"Everybody has problems, everybody has things that get them down. It's just saying, 'I can go out there, if I have a dream, I can really, if I work hard and I believe in it, I can achieve it'."

- AFP