Fulfilling her dream of being in the Olympics, she finished in 16th place in the marathon event and now looks forward to the upcoming Paralympics, where she'll compete in numerous swimming events.
And du Toit says no quarter is given by her rivals in the water and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Whatever the competition, able-bodied or not, nobody is going to hold back,” she said.
“I don’t look at other amputees and think ‘her leg is off higher than mine, so I’ll swim slower’. You train hard and give it everything." via www.thetimes.co.zaDu Toit swims without a prosthesis and can’t move her left leg, which was amputated just below the knee. She’s got half the kicking power of her opponents. She compensates with her left arm.
She stayed near the leaders for the first half of the race, but lost ground when her cap got caught on a turning buoy. She got stuck in the pack and got "dunked" on a couple turns, when the race becomes a Roller Derby of pushing and yanking.
via news.bostonherald.comShe finished in fourth place at the world championships in May.
Natalie, who told reporters she gets frustrated when people "look at her stump or prosthetic leg before they look at her face", says she loves racing "because it's pure meritocracy" and going to the Olympics was a victory of inclusion.
[image description: Natalie, an amputee, is shown diving into a pool.]
No comments:
Post a Comment