Swimming superstar Natalie du Toit achieved two of the three goals she set herself in 2008 and is now eyeing the third - to be able to run.

The 25-year-old South African, who had her left leg amputated above the knee in 2001, aimed to visit Kruger National Park and to reach the Beijing Olympics.

She managed both - watching her native game was straightforward, while she qualified for the 10 kilometres open water marathon by finishing a magnificent fourth in Seville in the world open water championships.

Du Toit went on to place 16th in the Olympic Games at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park - a placing she aims to improve upon at the Serpentine in London in 2012.

But running remains a test for the 10-time Paralympic champion.

"I want to be able to run again," she told PA Sport. "Not to be able to run to be an athlete or anything like that, just to be able to run if I'm in a hurry."

Du Toit has a prosthetic fin to build up her muscles and enable her to support a running prosthesis.

"I just got a swimming flipper that I can train with to try and build up a bit of," she added.

"It's to try and teach my leg to work a bit. It's going to take quite a lot, because I've forgotten how to run completely." Du Toit was injured when a car collided with her moped while she was travelling home from swimming training in February 2001.

Having represented South Africa aged 14 at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, everything was set for a promising career at the top of the sport.

But despite the events of that fateful day, Du Toit's perseverance, determination and stunning ability has enabled that to become a reality.

Little more than a year after losing her limb, she made a sensational return by placing eighth in the able-bodied Commonwealth Games 800 metres in Manchester in August 2002, finishing 11 seconds behind gold medal winner Rebecca Cooke from England.

Du Toit returns to the Manchester Aquatics Centre for the S9 100m freestyle at the BT Paralympic World Cup, looking for a fifth successive title.

Although she remains the overwhelming favourite for the event, which also features Great Britain's 16-year-old Louise Watkin, the silver medal winner from China, she is cautious.

Training for the open water marathon - she has been invited to the Italian National Championships on June 2 - is not conducive for the sprint events.

"Doing 15-20ks (kilometres) a day doesn't quite equip you for sprinting," she added.

"I've never been a sprinter, even before my accident, I was always a long-distance swimmer." Du Toit quickly bounced back from her Olympic marathon disappointment to collect five titles in the Water Cube, and she aims for a similar haul in London.

She is also aiming to double up by competing in Hyde Park in the Olympic Games, reiterating her wish to challenge for a medal.

"For London I definitely want to be top five," she said.

"I think the conditions will be better suited for me; to be in the cold climate it'll be much better." Competing at the aquatics centre in east London is also a goal, with a race against Britain's Olympic 800m champion Rebecca Adlington a possibility.

She added: "The girls I'm racing against in the 10 kilometres are about 20 seconds faster than me in an 800 metres race in the pool and obviously I'd like to be as fast as them." As for the open water competition, which often involves surreptitious manoeuvres under the water and is known for its physicality, Du Toit relishes the challenge it offers.

"It's great because it's given me the opportunity to go out there and just be a swimmer - I don't have to worry about the turns and the starts," said Du Toit, who is aiming to compete at the World Championships in Rome in August.