Fanie Lombaard celebrated his 10th paralympic medal with silver in the javelin as debutante Natalie du Toit joined the big man among the greats of world sport when she also won silver to add to her four Athens paralympics gold medals on Saturday night.
Du Toit added silver to her four golds — three of them world records — in the 100m backstroke at the Aquatic Centre.
On the track and field, seventeen-year-old Pretoria Boys High schoolboy Oscar Pistorius has become a phenomenon. The double leg amputee followed up his 200m world record gold against single leg amputees with a bronze medal in 11,16sec — a world record for double-amputees.
”I’ve never run this fast in my life. My start was much better than it was before, but I relaxed a bit over the first 30 metres,’ said the likeable lad afterwards. ”I am very glad with my time, it’s 0,4secs faster than I have run before and 1,1secs quicker than the world record (for double amputees).”
Pistorius, who stunned with his 21,97sec world record in the week, only started athletics in January. And his inexperience showed coming out of the blocks, but he surged through the field to challenge world record-holder Marion Shirley and Brian Frasure, both Americans, on the line. Another three metres and he would have won gold, He ran 11,16 to Shirley’s 11,08 that equaled his world record. Frasure sprinted 11,11sec.
Lombaard surprised himself with silver in the javelin, bringing his overall Paralympic medal haul since Atlanta 1996 to an unprecedented 10, after he won gold with a world record in the shotput, followed by his gold in the discus. He threw 47,02m using a spare prosthetic because he broke his competition ”blade” during training on Friday. Ernst van Dyk and Fabian Michaels also claimed silvers, bringing SA’s medal count to 11 gold, 12 silver and four bronze going into the penultimate day of competition on Sunday.
”Carl Lewis has nine medals from the Olympics,” he said. ”I’ve got 10 from the Paralympics. No-one’s beaten that. I’m very happy, because Ernst van Dyk won silver in the 800m wheelchair, adding to his medal tally of silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 5000m wheelchair. On Sunday he competes in the marathon.
Van Dyk, the world record holder (1:32,17) in the event, tucked in behind Japan’s Choke Yasuoka, but lacked sting in his sprint to overhaul him down the main straight. He finished in 1:32,53 against the 1:32,45 set by the Japanese athlete.
Fabian Michaels, whose disability is cerebral palsy, also won silver in the javelin with a 42,22m throw.
Du Toit, who lost her lower left leg in a scooter accident shortly after narrowly missing out on selection to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has left a golden trail in the pool that has made her the main feature of swimming at these Games.
She swam a personal best by two seconds in her 1:11,41 for silver behind the favourite, Canada’s Stephanie Dixon who beat her world record in 1:10,01.
”This has been a fantastic learning experience for me,” said Du Toit. ”The spirit, the crowd, these people are amazing. Earlier in the evening they pulled a swimmer out of the water who went under with an epileptic fit.
”I’ve made so many friends here, especially so with Stephanie (Dixon). It was difficult in the beginning, but now we talk about anything. It’s great to know someone like her.” Du Toit said she still had dreams of qualifying in the 800m for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. ”My times are improving steadily. In the beginning it was like being a 12-year-old in the pool, but now I’m reaching the top in the Paralympics.
”My strokes are getting better all the time. There’s a lot of hard work ahead because the Olympic qualifying time is 8:38 for the 800 — I’ve got 23 seconds to catch up in the three and half years.”
Judging by her quality as an athlete, her grit and her positive attitude, chances are improving all the time that she will close the eight second gap on the Olympic qualifying time in the next four years. Du Toit said she was tired after her hectic racing schedule.
”Late nights and early mornings take it out of you. I had a good start tonight, but I lost it on the turn. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself. In the water you are racing for yourself, but when you win you’ve done it for your country and that’s an amazing feeling.
”These swimmers and this team are different to swimmers back home in South Africa. There they are more in it for themselves. But here there’s team-spirit and camaraderie.”
Paralympian swimmers have scored more medals in the past, but none can compare with the high quality set by Du Toit. Her high point of the Games was her stunning world record victory in the 400m freestyle on Friday night when she left the field way back as she powered to a staggering 4min 28,09 that was a massive 7,06sec off her previous world mark set in Johannesburg last year. And she still has the 50 freestyle on Sunday.
Du Toit has still not given up her dream of making it as an Olympian swimmer to Beijing 2008. Judging by her quality as an athlete, her grit and her positive attitude, chances are improving all the time that she will close the eight second gap on the Olympic qualifying time in the next four years.
SA medal count halfway through Saturday evening: Gold – 11: Natalie du Toit 100 butterfly (1:07,69 world record), 100 freestyle (1:02,83 paralympic record), 200 IM (2:29,98 world record), 400m freestyle (4:28,09 world record) Fanie Lombaard shot put (13,52m world record) Malcolm Pringle 800m (1:58,90sec world record) Oscar Pistorius 200m (21,97sec world record) Teboho Mokgalagadi 100m (13,05sec world record) Fanie Lombaard (discus 45,56m) Nicholas Newman (javelin 38,09m world record) Tadgh Slattery (100m breaststroke 1:33,01). Silver – 12: Scott Field 100 butterfly (1:01,75), 400 freestyle (4:30,19), 100 freestyle 55,36sec Ernst van Dyk 1500 wheelchair (3:05,29) Nathan Meyer 200 (22,96sec ) Hilton Langenhoven long jump 7,03m Phillipa Johnson (equestrian dressage) 69.871 percent, (Individual dressage) 78.273 percent. Natalie du Toit 100 backstroke (1:11,41) Fabian Michaels javelin (42,22m) Ernst van Dyk 800 wheelchair (1:32,53) Fanie Lombaard javelin (47,02). Bronze – four: Bev Mashinini javelin (22,96m) Ernst van Dyk (5000m wheelchair 10:24,47) Duane Strydom (discus 30,16m) Oscar Pistorius 100 sprint (11,16sec). – Sapa