Natalie Du Toit: Tumble Turn By Tracey Hawthorne
Natalie du Toit: Tumble Turn
The Authorised Biography of an International Swimming Sensation and Paralympic Icon [1]
The Authorised Biography of an International Swimming Sensation and Paralympic Icon [1]
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Natalie du Toit: Tumble Turn
- Author: Tracey Hawthorne
- Publisher: Oshun Books, Cape Town
- Publication Date: 2006
- ISBN-10: 177020010X
- ISBN-13: 9781770200104
- Edition Details: First Edition, Standard Softcover Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium illustrated gloss card wrappers (paperback).
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 208 pages. Features historic photographic plates mapping her early swimming career, recovery milestone moments, and international competitive triumphs.
- Language: English [1, 2, 3, 4]
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Wraps: The original illustrated paper wrappers have been exceptionally well-maintained, retaining their bright contrast and full glossy texture. Shows only very slight, limited signs of superficial shelf-friction along the edges, without deep creasing or blunt corner impacts. The spine remains entirely pristine, unbroken, and uncreased, indicating highly careful domestic sheltering.
- Interior: The text block is structurally solid, completely intact, and perfectly clean. Pages are entirely free of user highlighting, ink notations, inscriptions, or folded dog-ears. A natural, uniform age-tanning is present across the internal leaf margins, which is completely typical for the paper stock used by South African trade publishers in this era. [1, 2]
- The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued) [1]
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 2006 amidst her historic training push for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Tumble Turn is the powerful, deeply moving authorized biography of Natalie du Toit. Chronicling an unmatched story of human courage, determination, and resilience, the book charts her meteoric rise as an elite teenage swimmer, the devastating 2001 scooter accident that resulted in the amputation of her left leg, and her subsequent jaw-dropping return to the water. [1, 2]
Remarkably, just 124 days after her life-altering trauma, Natalie defied the sports world by competing directly against able-bodied athletes. Author Tracey Hawthorne captures Natalie's trademark steely focus and unfaltering humor as she details historic milestones—including her groundbreaking qualification for the 800m able-bodied freestyle final at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and her award of the prestigious David Dixon Trophy. This collectible copy stands as a timeless inspirational document, preserving a live, contemporary window into the raw grit of a South African icon at the absolute peak of her international career. [1, 2]
Author Profile: Tracey Hawthorne
Tracey Hawthorne is a highly accomplished South African author, biographical writer, and veteran journalist. Known for her empathetic narrative pacing and meticulously researched profiles, Hawthorne has written extensively across multiple non-fiction genres, capturing the distinct voices of iconic figures within contemporary South African cultural and sporting history.
In collaborating closely with Natalie du Toit, Hawthorne successfully weaves direct personal accounts, locker-room reflections, and family insights into a fast-paced biography. Her balanced journalism bypasses traditional sports clichés, highlighting instead the complex psychological grit, physical adaptations, and emotional hurdles that defined Natalie's path from a tragic hospital room to the podium of the Paralympic World Cup.
natalie du toit tumble turn used collectible book tracey hawthorne oshun books rare south african sports biography 2006 177020010X paralympic swimming history #
