Du Toit bags Laureus Disability Award

Abu Dhabi: Natalie du Toit is the embodiment of determination. Breaking down the barriers between disabled and able-bodied sports, she bagged the Laureus Disability Award.

Du Toit, whose left leg had to be amputated below the knee following an accident in 2001, has defied all odds to keep winning gold medals in swimming. In 2008, she even went on to become the first amputee to compete in the Olympic Games.

Speaking after winning the award, the South African said: "Not everybody will have good luck. I think what everybody should do is try hard and go through their bad patches and learn from it."

Twenty-six-year-old Du Toit hails from a working-class family. Her father is a foreman and her mother a receptionist. She started her international swimming career at the age of 14 and even competed in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. In 2001, she met with an accident resulting in her leg being amputated.

Du Toit refused to give up hope and her love for swimming. In the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester she set a world record by winning both the multi-disability 50m free style and 100m free style swimming events.

Making history

So determined was she that on May 3, 2008, she qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing fourth in the 10km Open Water World Championship in Spain. She carried her country's flag in the 2008 Olympics as the first disabled athlete to have this honour.

Du Toit won five gold medals and a silver at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, and followed that up with three golds at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. At the International Paralympic Committee World Swimming Championships in Durban, Du Toit won six gold medals.

"When you get out there it is a race. I never think I am disabled or able-bodied. To me it does not make any difference whether it is Para Olympics or Olympics. It is really just about me going about my goals and dreams," said Du Toit, who is also a motivational speaker. Her autobiography Tumble Turn is one of the most inspirational books in sports.

Du Toit has a website and in it you can find her favourite saying: "The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals. The tragedy of life lies in not having goals to reach for. It is not a disgrace not to reach for the stars. But it is a disgrace not to have stars to reach for."