First flag-bearer at a Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games

Swimmer Natalie du Toit (South Africa) was the flag-bearer at the opening ceremonies of both the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, in 2008. The 11-time Paralympic gold medallist is one of only nine athletes to have competed at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Natalie du Toit and Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka were the first ever female amputees to compete at an Olympic Games - both appeared at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China. In doing so, they became the first two athletes to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the same year. Du Toit became the first amputee to race in a major able-bodied swimming final when she competed in the 800 m freestyle final at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK. Du Toit retired at the end of the 2012 London Paralympics.