About Du Toit Nathalie (who achieved very good results in both the Olympics and Paralympics, commonly known as the "Double Olympics")

First of all, let me explain what a "double Olympian" is. This is a term I invented myself. It refers to athletes who will participate in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics at the same time. I really can't find a more appropriate term. So I have no choice but to be tougher and replace it with better words in the future. Borrowing a slogan from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee - "Two Olympics, equally exciting", I wish athletes who can become "double Olympic athletes" can make their dreams come true in Beijing. Last month, I wrote a special article to recommend Oscar Pistorius, the "Blade Runner" South African disabled men's 400-meter runner, and predicted that he is very likely to become a "Double Olympic athlete", although he There is almost no ability to reach the Olympic A standard before June 30, but the South African Athletics Association is still very likely to realize its dream and select him as a member of the 4X400 meter relay team to create a "double Olympic athlete." In order to write that article, I read a lot of reports, and they mentioned that there was a South African female swimmer in South Africa who was in a very similar situation to Pistorius. She also had a lower leg amputee and wore prosthetic legs to compete in able-bodied competitions with outstanding results. I didn’t really pay much attention to it at the time. In the past two days, I saw the news from the South African Swimming Association and the South African Olympic Committee, and suddenly realized that this South African female athlete named Natalie Du Toit might have the chance. Became the first true "Double Olympian" in history. In terms of results, Nathalie du Toit, who was born in 1984, surpassed too many able-bodied people. She won fourth place in the women's 10-kilometer swimming marathon at the World Championships in April this year, winning the first place in one fell swoop. Qualification for the Beijing Olympics. The competition time for this event is August 20. If Natalie Du Toit successfully participates in the competition and can participate in the subsequent Beijing Paralympic Games, then she will write a legendary chapter in the history of the Olympic Games.

The women's 10-kilometer swimming marathon is open water swimming, and the competition venue of the Beijing Olympics is Shunyi Aquatic Stadium. This event requires extremely high physical fitness and even the ability to resist interference in water. Being able to finish fourth in the world in the able-bodied competition shows that Natalie Du Toit has superior strength. Compared with Pistorius, Natalie Du Toit has lived an able-bodied life for 17 years. Before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she was close to the Olympic Games in three swimming events at the age of 16. She has become the "star of hope" in South Africa's swimming community. Everyone believes that the swimming pool in Athens will be the place where she can realize her Olympic dream. But an accidental car accident in 2001 forced Natalie du Toit to accept the cruel fate of having her left lower leg amputated. On the day of the accident, Natalie Du Toit left the training hall and was hit by a speeding car in the parking lot and broke her left leg. While enduring the severe pain, she repeatedly shouted: "My My legs are gone.” After the surgery, Natalie Du Toit’s first thought was to get back on her feet, and she continued to swim for four hours a day. The year after her amputation, Natalie du Toit made history and became the first disabled athlete in swimming history to participate in a major competition for able-bodied people. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, she entered Although she was unable to compete for medals in the women's 800-meter freestyle final, it was already a huge success for her. She surpassed Thorpe, who won six gold medals, one gold medal and broke a world record, and was selected as the winner of that session. The best athlete at the Commonwealth Games, Natalie du Toit won five gold medals for South Africa at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games. After that, Natalie du Toit's dream of participating in the Olympics became even stronger. She said: "I have always longed to participate in the Olympics. A car accident cannot take away this dream of mine."