Who won the 26th place in the 2008 Olympic Games 10 km swimming? That's disabled. . .

Isn't she 16? I'm confused about this. . .

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 20th-The women's 10 km marathon swimming competition of the Beijing Olympic Games was held this morning. In the competition, a special athlete won warm applause from the audience. She is Natalie Du Toit, a 24-year-old South African disabled athlete, the only athlete who participated in both the Beijing Olympic Games and the Beijing Paralympic Games.

Dutoit won 16 in 2 hours, 0 minutes and 49.9 seconds.

personal file

Name: Natalie Du Toit.

Birthday:1984065438+1October 29th.

Gender: Female

Height:1.75m/5ft.9in.

Weight: 72kg/159lb

Country and region: South Africa

Place of birth: Cape Town, South Africa

Entry: swimming-women's 10 km marathon.

Character story

On August 20th, 2008, when Natalie Du Toit, a 24-year-old South African athlete, stood on the podium of the Olympic women's 10 km marathon swimming final, she knew that she was the focus of the athletes, but it was related to her performance.

People are worried that her leg, the left leg below the knee, has been completely amputated, which is eighteen centimeters thinner than the symmetrical part of the healthy right leg. In the opponent's long legs, these broken legs are more and more abrupt. On August 20th, Du Toit became the first female disabled swimmer to compete with a healthy person in Olympic history.

Dutoit was once the most talented swimmer in South Africa. At the age of 16 in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, she was one of the finalists of three Olympic qualifiers. But fate played a big joke on her. Bad luck came seven years ago. In February of 200 1 year, her left leg was amputated after a traffic accident. At that time, Dutoit rode his motorcycle home after training, and when he passed a parking lot, he collided with a sports car that was reversing. "There was blood everywhere, just like a ripe tomato fell to the ground." Afterwards, Du Toit's left leg was amputated below the knee. The promising girl who missed the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 became disabled in a blink of an eye.

Just three months later, Dutoit returned to the swimming pool and began to learn to swim with one leg. However, while swimming breaststroke, she found herself spinning in the water or hitting the wall of the pool because of overexertion. Soon, Dutoit decided to give up medley and focus on long-distance swimming instead of kicking too much. A year later, Dutoit broke into the women's 800-meter freestyle final of Commonwealth Games. In May 2008, she won the fourth place in the women's 10 km marathon swimming in the World Championships and swam into the Beijing Olympic Games in one fell swoop.

In the final on the 20th, Dutoit finally ranked 16 among the 25 contestants. Faced with the audience's generous applause and applause, Dutoit was not satisfied with his performance: "I am a little disappointed. I should be in the top five, which is unforgivable for a player who has participated for a long time."

In 2002 Commonwealth Games, Dutoit was awarded as an excellent athlete; In the 2007 African Games, she won the women's 800-meter freestyle gold medal; In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Du Toit's dream was to win an Olympic medal, and her sympathy and pity for disabled athletes could not make up for her regret.

"I don't want to get anything for free. I was 16, that's all. I came for my dream, and the dream is for myself, not for others. " Du Toit said after the game. 10 days later, Dutoit will appear in the swimming competition of the Beijing Paralympic Games. Four years ago, at the Athens Paralympic Games, she took five gold medals and one silver medal.

The women's 10 km marathon swimming competition of Beijing Olympic Games was held on the morning of August 24th, 2008. In the competition, a special athlete won warm applause from the audience. She is Natalie Du Toit, a 24-year-old South African disabled athlete, the only athlete who participated in both the Beijing Olympic Games and the Beijing Paralympic Games.

Dutoit won 16 in 2 hours, 0 minutes and 49.9 seconds.

Du Toit was originally a good swimmer. In February of 200 1 year, at the age of 17, she lost her left calf in a motorcycle accident, but three months later, she returned to the water and learned to swim again with one leg. Dutoit won five gold medals at the Athens Paralympic Games. She also won the fourth place in the 10 km race at this year's World Championships in Spain.

Du Toit once said, "I want to prove that I can swim far even with only one leg." It is with perseverance that this strong girl qualified for the women's 10 km marathon swimming competition in Beijing Olympic Games. In addition, after the Beijing Olympic Games, Dutoit will also participate in the Beijing Paralympic Games. He is the only athlete who participates in both events at the same time.

Before the game, Du Toit's coach thought she had the strength to win a medal. But no matter what achievements Du Toit has made, it is the full embodiment of the Olympic spirit that she can stand on the Olympic field. She can also be said to be a legend of Beijing Olympic Games.