July 7 - South Africa's ten-time Paralympic gold medallist Natalie du Toit (pictured) has been chosen to compete in the Fina Open Water Swimming World Championships in Roberval, Canada, from July 15 to 23.


Du Toit was chosen after her remarkable performance at the Telkom South Africa Open Water Championships in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, in April where they won 10km national titles.

Du Toit competed in the open water event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she finished 16th.

She then won five gold medals in the Paralympics in the Chinese capital, adding to the five she had won in Athens four years earlier.

The 26-year-old from Cape Town carried the flag for South Africa in both the Olympics and Paralympics, the first time anyone had achieved that feat.

Earlier this year du Toit was named the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for "breaking down the barriers between disabled and able-bodied sport".


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March 2010: Natalie du Toit wins Laureus Award
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