South African inspiration Natalie du Toit is expected to dazzle sports fans at the Beijing Paralympics.

After removing her artificial leg at the start of the 10km swimming event at the recent Beijing Olympics, she went on to earn a highly respectable 16th place finish at the first open water race in Olympic history.

Natalie Du Toit carries the South Africa flag during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. [Agencies]

The first swimming amputee to compete in an Olympic event trailed just over a minute behind Russia's gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko.

At the Water Cube, the 24-year-old will defend five S9 category titles from the Athens Paralympics. She will also be looking for redemption in the 100m backstroke – the only event she competed in four years ago that forced her to settle for silver.

But competition for the gold medal won't be easy. She'll have to square off again with Canada's 100m backstroke defending champion Stephanie Dixon as well as face rising British sensation Louise Watkin.

She just might be able to pull it off if the Beijing Olympics hasn't already completely drained her.

The native of Cape Town hasn't been known to back down easily. She has been a fierce international swimming competitor since the age of 14. After being struck by a car while riding her scooter back to school from swim practice in 2001, she was forced to have her leg amputated.

Her strong determination and refusal to give up on her dreams have since driven her to set a number of world records.

At 18, she made sporting history at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester as the first athlete with a disability to qualify for the final of an able-bodied event, the 80m freestyle.

There she also won and set world records for the multi-disability 50m freestyle and multi-disability 100m freestyle. She also carried her country's flag last month at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, making her the first disabled athlete to be given such an honor at the Olympics.

Out of the pool, du Toit is more than just an athletics superstar. When she's not busy training, she does motivational speaking. She's also earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cape Town.

(China Daily September 7, 2008)