South Africa are taking a team of 20 swimmers to the competition in the Netherlands while team manager Bird, head coach Theo Verster and ten other administrative personnel will accompany them.

But despite the size of the team, South Africa will be heavily reliant on ten-time Paralympic gold medallist du Toit to boost their chances of finishing high on the medal table when the Champinships open on August 16.

The South African star, who was recently the recipient of the prestigious 2010 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award, is one of the most recognisable Paralympians in the world.

After having her left leg amputated at the knee in 2001 after she was hit by a car, du Toit has gone on to create international headlines by becoming the first amputee to qualify for the Olympics which she did at the Beijing 2008 Games.

She competed in the open water event at the Beijing Olympics, where she finished 16th, before going on to claim 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 will undoubtedly be one of the major attractions on show at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium in Eindhoven while rising star Kevin Paul and shark- bite victim Achmat Hassiem (pictured) are expected to be the other main gold medal contenders from South Africa.

Bird said: "It’s a strong team with definite medal chances but our top hopes will rest with Natalie, Kevin and Charl [Bouwer] as well as Shireen [Sapiro].

"It’s also the first time in many years that we have swimmers in the S14 category ([he intellectually disability category] and in this regard, we expect Craig Groenewald to do well.

"Other S14 swimmers are Challis Wright and Yvonne Smith and its Smith’s first major international competition."

Other South African debutantes for the competition are Hendri Herbst and Marike Naude.

The competition will be vital for all the swimmers competing as these are the first stages of the long qualification process for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

A total of 659 athletes from 55 different countries will be competing at the Championships.

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