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Natalie, the swimmer who lost a leg
Natalie du Toit, the South African swimmer, was only seventeen
when she lost her leg in a road accident. She was going to a
training session at the swimming pool on her motorbike when
a car hit her. Her leg had to be amputated at the knee. At the
time she was one of South Africa's most promising young
swimmers. Everybody thought that she would never be able
to swim competitively again.
But Natalie was determined to carry on. She went back into the
pool only three months after the accident. And just one year
later, at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, she swam
800 metres in 9 minutes 11.38 seconds and qualified
for the final - but not for disabled swimmers, for able-bodied
ones! Although she didn't win a medal, she still made history.
'I remember how thrilled I was the first time that I swam after
recovering from the operation - it felt like my leg was there.
It still does,' says Natalie. The water is the gift that gives me
back my leg. I'm still the same person I was before the accident.
believe everything happens in life for a reason. You can't go
back and change anything. Swimming was my life and still is.
My dream is to swim faster than I did before the accident."
Adapted from the British press
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