Image via Sportstar

In order to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing, South African swimmer Natalie Du Toit needed at least tenth place in a 10K race. It seemed like a daunting task as she got into choppy, rough water with 49 other world class swimmers, but she was the only one with half the leg propulsion. You see, Natalie lost her left leg when she was struck by a car after swimming practice, just a year after missing qualifications for the Sydney Olympics by two seconds. Due to the accident, there was no way she could rehabilitate fast enough to qualify for the Athens Summer Games in 2004. So this was it. Beijing or bust.  At the end of the race, after two hours of swimmers fighting for water and bumping into each other, she crossed the finish line in fourth place and became the first amputee to qualify for the Olympics. Ever.

From the Telegraph:

Her secret? Well, there is no secret, she says, no physical or technical trick to compensate for the loss of a limb. Just hard work and obsessive determination. "There's no real compensation. You just do the hours in the swimming pool, you do the hours of racing and you do the hours of mental preparation. You just go out and give it everything. I don't even think of one leg, two legs. When you're racing in an able-bodied competition you're all equal and you go out there and try your best, and that's what counts."

Thank you, Natalie, for kicking ass and taking names, for being a chick who refused to listen to reason or scientific logic, and for being my inspiration on a rather gloomy, rainy Wednesday. And more importantly, thank you for reminding me that there are no excuses.