Renate Magdeleen du Plessis (born 14 July 1981) is a South African former competitive swimmer who specialised in butterfly events. She broke numerous South African records in the 100-metre butterfly at the

1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The seventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefectu ...

in Fukuoka, Japan, and later represented South Africa as an 18-year-old at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Athens, Greece. She received ten All-American honours as a member of the Florida Gators swimming and diving team.

Career

Early years

Du Plessis was born in

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislature, legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the sec ...

, the daughter of Andre and Jeanette du Plessis. She has one younger sister named Ciska and one younger named Marnitz, all of whom were full-time members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She started swimming at the age of ten after watching the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, where the South African squad made its official comeback in 42 years because of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

: "I remember my parents watching and explaining to me what the rings and what the Olympics were". Four years later, she missed a chance to be selected for the Olympic team by almost a small fraction of time. Du Plessis's first competitive swimming experiences were honed with Bellville Aquarama (now Barracudas Aquarama) coach Heinz Dittrich. At the age of eighteen, Du Plessis left her family in South Africa to come to the United States and eventually swim for the University of Hawaii: ""I had been travelling for swimming since I was 13, so at first it just felt like a really long road trip or camp".

College career

Du Plessis first attended the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii, and competed for the

Hawaii Rainbow Wahine The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes a ...

swimming and diving team, under head coach Sam Freas, during the 2000–2001 season. She earned four

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

honours and posted a career best in the 100-yard butterfly (54.30). In the fall of 2001, Du Plessis transferred to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where she trained for coach

Gregg Troy Gregg Troy (born December 19, 1950) is an American professional and Olympic swimming coach. As of April 2021, he is the head coach for the Cali Condors, which is part of the International Swimming League. Until 2018, he was the head coach of the ...

as a member of the Florida Gators swimming and diving team. While swimming for the Gators, she achieved career bests in the 100-yard butterfly (53.02), 200-yard butterfly (1:59.79), and 100-yard backstroke (53.87), and received a total of ten All-American and five

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

honours in her entire college career. She graduated from the University in 2004 with a bachelor of science degree major in

exercise physiology Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

International career

Du Plessis made her official debut at the

in Fukuoka, Japan, where she established a South African record of 1:02.10, but finished fourth in the 100-metre butterfly. At the

in Sydney, Australia, Du Plessis competed for South Africa in the women's 100-metre butterfly, along with her teammate

Mandy Loots Amanda Toni "Mandy" Loots (born 3 August 1978 in Gwelo, Rhodesia) is an Olympic and national-record-holding swimmer from South Africa. Swimming career Loots swam for South Africa at the 1996, 2000 and 2008 Olympics. Despite being of South A ...

. Missing out of the Olympic Trials, she finished behind Loots from the Mare Nostrum Swim Meet in Rome, Italy with a FINA A-standard time of 1:00.66. She challenged seven other swimmers in heat four, including Hungary's 16-year-old Orsolya Ferenczy and Finland's three-time Olympian

Marja Pärssinen Marja Pärssinen (born 13 March 1971 in Jyväskylä, Finland) is a retired female butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Finland. Nicknamed ''Marde'' Pärssinen competed for her native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992 ...

. Coming from fourth at the initial turn, she faded down the stretch with fatigue and slow pace to pick up a fifth seed in 1:01.32, more than half a second (0.50) below her entry standard. Du Plessis failed to advance into the semi-finals, as she placed twenty-eighth overall on the first day of prelims.

References

External links