Swimming career[edit]
Du Toit first competed internationally at the age of 14, when she took part in the 1998
Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. During the 2002 Commonwealth Games inManchester, Du
Toit, who was then 18 years old, won both the multi-disability 50 m freestyle and the multi-disability
100 m freestyle in world record time. She also made sporting history by qualifying for the 800 m
able-bodied freestyle final - the first time that an athlete with a disability had qualified for the final of
an able-bodied event. At the closing of the Manchester Commonwealth Games, she was presented
with the first David Dixon Award for Outstanding Athlete of the Games.
In 2003, competing against able-bodied swimmers, Du Toit won gold in the 800 metres freestyle at
the All-Africa Games as well as silver in the 800 metres freestyle and bronze in the 400 metres
freestyle at the Afro-Asian Games.
She narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics in Athens in 2004, but during the Paralympics that
were held in the same city, she won one silver and five gold medals. In the same year, her courage
and achievements were acknowledged with a nomination for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the
Year 2004 with Disability Award. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games she repeated her previous
performance by winning the same two golds as she had in Manchester. In 2006 Du Toit also won six
gold medals at the fourth IPC World Swimming Championships, finishing third overall in a race which
included 36 males and 20 females.
Oscar Carl Lennard Pistorius OIB (/pstris/; born 22 November 1986) is a South
African sprint runner and convicted murderer. Both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee
when he was 11 months old. Pistorius was the first athlete to compete at the Paralympic games and
Olympic games, competing in sprint events for below-knee amputees in Paralympic events, and in
able-bodied sprint events.
After becoming a Paralympic champion, Pistorius attempted to enter able-bodied international
competition, over persistent objections of the IAAF and charges that his artificial limbs gave an unfair
advantage. Pistorius eventually prevailed in this legal dispute. At the 2011 World Championships in
Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. At the 2012
Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics
when he entered themen's 400 metres and 4 400 metres relay races. At the 2012 Summer
Paralympics, Pistorius won gold medals in the men's 400-metre race and in the 4 100 metres
relay, setting world records in both events. He also took silver in the 200-metre race, having set a
world record in the semifinal.
Stephen William Hawking CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (
/stivn hk/; born 8 January 1942) is an
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for
Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge.[16][17] His scientific works include a
collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general
relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking
radiation. Hawking was the first to set forth a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the
general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds
interpretation of quantum mechanics.[18][19]
He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy
of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the
United States. Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge
between 1979 and 2009 and has achieved commercial success with works of popular science in
which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; his book A Brief History of
Time appeared on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 October 18, 1931) was
an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life
around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting,
practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park",[3] he was one of the first inventors to
apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and
because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.[4]
Edison was a prolific inventor, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as many patents in the
United Kingdom, France, and Germany. More significant than the number of Edison's patents was
the widespread impact of his inventions: electric light and powerutilities, sound recording, and motion
pictures all established major new industries world-wide. Edison's inventions contributed to mass
communication and, in particular, telecommunications. These included a stock ticker, a mechanical
vote recorder, a battery for an electric car, electrical power, recorded music and motion pictures.
His advanced work in these fields was an outgrowth of his early career as a telegraph operator.
Edison developed a system of electric-power generation and distribution [5] to homes, businesses,
and factories a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first power station was
on Pearl Street in Manhattan, New York.[5]
Team Hoyt began in 1977 when Rick asked his father if they could run in a race together to benefit a
lacrosse player at his school who had become paralyzed. He wanted to prove that life went on no
matter your disability.[8] Dick Hoyt was not a runner and was 36 years old. After their first race Rick
said, "Dad, when Im running, it feels like Im not handicapped." After their initial five mile run, Dick
began running every day with a bag of cement in the wheelchair because Rick was at school and
studying, unable to train with him.[3] Dick was able to improve his fitness so much that even with
pushing his son, he was able to obtain a personal record of a 5 km run in 17 minutes.[9]
Team Hoyt in Wellesley at ~12.8 miles on April 16, 2012
As of April 2014, the Hoyts had competed in 1,108 endurance events, including 72 marathons and
six Ironman triathlons.[10]They had run the Boston Marathon 32 times. Also adding to their list of
achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in
45 days.[10][11]
They also compete in triathlons. For the swim portion of the triathlon, Dick uses a rope attached to
his body to pull Rick sitting in a boat. For the cycle portion, Rick rides on the front of a specially
designed tandem bike.[4][12] For the run portion, Dick pushes Rick in his wheelchair.[6]
A bronze statue in honor of the Hoyts was dedicated on April 8, 2013, near the start of the Boston
Marathon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.[13]
Olympics and Paralympics performance[edit]
Partyka competed for Poland both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer
Paralympics in Beijing one of only two athletes to do so, the other being Natalie du Toit in
swimming.[4] They were her third Paralympic Games, and her first Olympics. Competing in class 10
at the Beijing Paralympics, she won gold by defeating China's Fan Lei by three sets to nil.[5]
In 2008, she won a gold medal in the singles event and a silver in the team event at the Beijing
Paralympics, repeating her Athens Paralympics result.
She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. In the
Olympics, she competed in women's singles table tennis.[6] On 3 September 2012 Partyka defeated
China's Qiang Yang 32 in the gold medal match to become Paralympic champion. On 8 September
2012 she won bronze in the women's team class 610, after defeating France 32.
