A deep reservoir of inspiration

BEIJING -- When South Africa's Natalie du Toit dives into the water for the women's marathon swim Wednesday (tonight ET), the dreams of those she has inspired will surely be riding the waves along with her.

Du Toit, 24, is the first female amputee to compete in the Olympics. When she was 16, she nearly qualified for the 2000 Games. But the following year as she trained for the 2004 Olympics, she was struck by a car while on her motorbike in Cape Town. Her left leg was amputated at the knee.

Du Toit responded to the tragedy by jumping back into the pool a few months later. She had never been a distance swimmer, but a year ago she started training for this grueling, 6.2-mile race. She qualified for Beijing with a fourth-place finish in the world championships in May.

"You have to work hard ...