Natalie du Toit

Natalie du Toit

Personal information
Nickname(s)	Noodle
Nationality	South African
Born	(1984-01-29) 29 January 1984 (age 32) Cape Town, South Africa
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke
Medal record Representing  South Africa Women's Swimming All-Africa Games 2003 Abuja 800 m Freestyle Paralympic Games 2004 Athens 50 m freestyle S9 2004 Athens 100 m freestyle S9 2004 Athens 400 m freestyle S9 2004 Athens 100 m butterfly S9 2004 Athens 200 m individual medley SM9 2008 Beijing 50 m freestyle S9 2008 Beijing 100 m freestyle S9 2008 Beijing 400 m freestyle S9 2008 Beijing 100 m butterfly S9 2008 Beijing 200 m individual medley SM9 2012 London 100 m butterfly S9 2012 London 400 m freestyle S9 2012 London 200 m individual medley S9 2004 Athens 100 m backstroke S9 2012 London 100m Freestyle S9 IPC Swimming World Championships 2006 Durban 50 m freestyle S9 2006 Durban 100 m freestyle S9 2006 Durban 400 m freestyle S9 2006 Durban 100 m butterfly S9 2006 Durban 200m medley S9 2006 Durban 5 km open water 2010 Eindhoven 100 m butterfly S9 2010 Eindhoven 100 m freestyle S9 2010 Eindhoven 400 m freestyle S9 2010 Eindhoven 200 m medley SM9 2010 Eindhoven 100 m backstroke S9 2010 Eindhoven 5 km open water S1-10 2010 Eindhoven 50 m freestyle S9 2010 Eindhoven 100 m breaststroke SB8 Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester 50 m freestyle EAD 2002 Manchester 100 m freestyle EAD 2006 Melbourne 50 m freestyle EAD 2006 Melbourne 100 m freestyle EAD 2010 Delhi 50 m freestyle EAD 2010 Delhi 100 m freestyle EAD 2010 Delhi 100 m butterfly EAD

Natalie du Toit OIG (/dᵿˈtɔɪ/; born 29 January 1984) is a South African swimmer. She is best known for the gold medals she won at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the other being table tennis player Natalia Partyka. Du Toit became the third amputee ever to qualify for the Olympics, where she placed 16th in the 10K, "Marathon", swim.

Du Toit was born in Cape Town, South Africa and attended Timour Hall Primary school. She began competing internationally in swimming at the age of 14. In February 2001 her left leg was amputated at the knee after she was hit by a car while riding her scooter back to school after swimming practice. She was 17 at the time. Three months later, before she had started walking again, she was back in the pool with the intention of competing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Du Toit swims without the aid of a prosthetic limb.

She completed her scholastic education at the Reddam House, Cape Town after which she studied for a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Cape Town, specializing in genetics and physiology. In her free time she does motivational speaking.

Du Toit first competed internationally at the age of 14, when she took part in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. During the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Du Toit, who was then 18 years old, won both the multi-disability 50 m freestyle and the multi-disability 100 m freestyle in world record time. She also made sporting history by qualifying for the 800 m able-bodied freestyle final – the first time that an athlete with a disability had qualified for the final of an able-bodied event. At the closing of the Manchester Commonwealth Games, she was presented with the first David Dixon Award for Outstanding Athlete of the Games.

...
Wikipedia