Ryk Neethling OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as a three-time World Aquatic Champion and four-time World Record breaking Olympic swimming champion, participating in four Olympics for South Africa from 1996-2008. He won a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and is known as one of the most accomplished South African swimmers in history. He would later serve as the CEO of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa, and found the Ryk Neethling Swimming Schools. Born in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, S.A. on 17 November 1977, he attended Grey College, and was coached by Simon Gray at the Seals Swim Club of Bloemfontein. In 1994, Ryk eclipsed the 1500m freestyle South African record by ten seconds, formerly set by his own coach Simon Gray in 1976. Around 18, he captured the 400 and 1500m freestyle competition at the 1995 South African swimming championships. During his time at Grey College, he gained national recognition as a swimmer, earning a place with the South African swimming team for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He enrolled at the University of Arizona after the 1996 games.

University of Arizona

After attending the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Neethling attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in Tucson, Arizona, enrolling in the Fall of 1996 and attending through 2000, where he was managed and trained by ASCAA Hall of Fame Head Coach Frank Busch, and Assistant Hall of Fame Coach

Rick DeMont Richard James DeMont (born April 21, 1956) is an American former competition swimming (sport), swimmer, world champion, and former world record-holder in multiple events. Despite placing first in the 400-meter freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olymp ...

. DeMont was a former holder of the 1500-meter world record in 1972, and an Olympic participant who had initially won the 400-meter freestyle and was well suited to improve Neethling's freestyle technique and efficiency. Neethling won nine

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championships while a student at Arizona. As a Sophomore, he won NCAA titles in the 200, 500, and 1650-yard freestyle. He was a Pac-10 Conference individual champion seven times, an All-American seventeen times, and the NCAA Division I Swimmer of the Year for 1998-99. Graduating around 2000, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and Business from the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Olympics 1996-2008

He was the first

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n to compete in four successive

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

from 1996-2008. He participated in the 1500 at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 finishing fifth with a time of 15:14.63. He again finished fifth in the 1500 with an improved time of 15.00.48 at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games, less than four seconds from contending for a bronze medal.

2004 Athens Olympic gold medal

Neethling won an Olympic gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay freestyle relay at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in a high point of his career. The 2004 4x100 meter Olympic gold medal South African relay team that set a winning time of 3:13.17, consisted of Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and Neethling. As one of the events fastest swimmers, Schoeman's opening leg in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, opened up a short lead that remained throughout the race defeating the second place Netherlands team at the finish by a second and defeating the United States team which took the bronze. Making a major contribution, Neethling maintained the lead swimming the anchor position with a time of 47.99, the fastest time of all the South African relay swimmers. Neethling placed 4th in the individual 100 meter freestyle at the 2004 games. At the 2008 Olympics, he again competed in the 100-meter freestyle placing 30th, and in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, one of his signature events, he placed seventh.

World and S.A. records

He is the former joint owner of the 4×100 m freestyle relay world record and broke the 100m Individual Medley World Record three times in 2005. He has held the South African record in the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events. He also broke three world records in the 100m individual medley.

International competition highlights

Neethling participated in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, winning the silver medal in the 1500 m freestyle, but only capturing a fifth place at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships. In 1999 he had a better performance at the Pan Pacific Championships winning silver in the 1500 m freestyle, and bronze in the 400 m and 200 m freestyle. After achieving a disappointing fifth place in the 1500 m freestyle event and an eighth in the 400 m freestyle at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, he decided to quit competing in the 1500 m event, preferring to focus on the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events. At the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

he captured a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle and finished 4th in the 50 m freestyle events. At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

he captured a silver in the 100 m freestyle and was part of the S.A gold medal winning 4×100 m freestyle relay team. He won three individual gold medals at the 2006 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. In November 2005, he announced that he had refused a multimillion-dollar offer by

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

's Olympic body to switch nationalities and swim for Qatar at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Professional life

He has served as CEO of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa, a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Ambassador, founder of the Ryk Neethling Swimming Schools and a director and shareholder of Val de Vie Estate. He is also an international keynote and motivational speaker. Neethling opened the second branch of the Ryk Neethling Swimming School and Academy in South Africa around June of 2012. The academy focuses on teaching children swimming at an early age, a focus Neethling believed could be a life-long benefit. He has more recently served as a shareholder and marketing director of Val de Vie Estate a luxury property development in

Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...

, South Africa.

Honors

At the University of Arizona, he was considered one of the most honored swimmers in the history of the school. He was named the American

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Swimmer of the Year and Athlete of the Century in 1999. He was an Arizona Athlete of the Year, and won the University of Arizona Athlete of the Century award.Cape Talk interview
Retrieved 4 January 2020 He was a Pac-10 Athlete of the Year four years in a row while at Arizona."Swimming, Neethling", ''Arizona Daily Star'', Tucson, Arizona, 11 July 2015, pg. B005 In August, 2024, he was inducted into the South Africa Sports Hall of Fame, along with the three other swimmers who won the gold medal in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

References

External links

Official website
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Swim History, Ryk Neethling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neethling, Ryk 1977 births Living people Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Swimmers from Bloemfontein Olympic swimmers for South Africa Olympic gold medalists for South Africa Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Arizona Wildcats men's swimmers South African expatriate swimmers in the United States Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein World record setters in swimming South African male freestyle swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Olympic gold medalists in swimming Goodwill Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games 21st-century South African sportsmen