Athens - Natalie du Toit spearheaded South Africa to its ninth Athens Paralympic gold medal with a world record 2min 29.98sec in the 200m individual medley on Thursday night, adding to the world-record gold by Nicholas Newman in the javelin at the Olympic Stadium earlier in the day.
Du Toit earned loud applause from the packed Aquatic Centre when she cut under her own world mark of 2:32.19 that she had set in the morning heats.
There was much to celebrate in the SA camp on Thursday night after Du Toit's stunning sub-2:30 performance and the superb effort by Newman.
Competing in the F36 class for cerebral palsy, he threw the javelin 38.09m for gold with his first throw, beating his previous best of 36.85m.
"This has been an amazing experience for me," enthused Du Toit, who swam the 100m butterfly in a world-record 1:07.69 on Sunday, followed by the 100m freestyle in a Paralympic 1:02.83 record.
"The stands have been full and the spirit in the team is really great.
"I had a nice break (on Wednesday) and I felt quite strong out there.
"When I turned at 31.68 in the fly, I knew I was on my way to the record if I just kept it together in the breaststroke - you know, keep my stroke smooth and long. Once I was into the freestyle, I just gave it my all.
Natalie the quality feature
"I've swum my best times here, what more could I ask for?"
Du Toit, a one-leg amputee from Cape Town, has been the quality feature at the Aquatic Centre.
She takes on the 400m freestyle - her strongest event - on Friday, followed by the 100m backstroke on Saturday and finishes her spectacular swimming campaign with the 50m freestyle on Sunday.
Newman, surrounded by his family and proudly wearing his gold medal as he left the Olympic Stadium, said it felt like he was walking on clouds.
"I'm going to relax, then I'm going to party," he grinned.
