1992 and beyond

World Female Swimmer of the Year 1996 and 1999

1996 Olympic silver medallist

Brendon Dedekind is the first swimmer from South Africa to win an international gold medal, at the 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

Sarah won two gold medals at the 2000 FINA World Championships. 

He was the first South African male swimmer to win an Olympic medal, at the Sydney 2000 Games. Terence is deaf and uses strobe light signals to know when to start swimming.

In the mid-2000s, Olympic Champion Roland Schoeman was on top of his game, winning several world titles, and breaking world records. Roland was still competing in 2024, at the SA Championships.

Ryk Neethling was the first South African to compete in four successive Olympic Games. He won Olympic gold in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He was also a Commonwealth and World Champion.

Along with fellow University of Arizona alumni Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling, and Darian Townsend, Lyndon provided one of the indelible moments of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games as the quartet won the Gold Medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay in a world record time of 3:13.17.

He swam for South Africa at three Olympic Games from 2004 - 2012. The highlight of his Olympic swimming career was the men's relay at the 2004 Athens Games, where he was the Englishman amongst the Afrikaners from Bloemfontein, Pietersburg, and Pretoria.

A 50m backstroke specialist, and another University of Pretoria-based home grown talent, Gerhard beat WR holders Tomas Rupprath and Liam Tankock to win the 50m backstroke in 24.98 at the 2007 FINA World Championships held in Melbourne, Australia. He also won the bronze in 2003, 2009, and 2011.

Cameron is South Africa's first home-trained world record holder, training at the University of Pretoria High Performance Unit. He also became the first South African male to win an Olympic Gold medal when he finished first in the 100m breaststroke at the London Olympic Games in 2012. 

Ho made history at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, becoming the first South African to win a medal in the five-kilometre open water swim, taking bronze.

Du Toit has had a legendary career in the sport. On top of having an incredible 13 gold medals from three Paralympic Games, she's also the first amputee to ever qualify for the Olympics. In 2008, she finished 16th in the world in the 10K open water swim.

Kathryn set a world record in the SC 400 IM at the 2009 FINA World Cup in Singapore.

Another champion coached by Simon Gray in Bloemfontein, George smashed the 200 metres backstroke short course world record at the FINA Swimming World Cup leg in Moscow, Russia on 7 November 2009. He also won a silver in the 200 backstroke at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

The golden boy of South African swimming, Chad is coached in Durban by former champion Graham Hill.  After winning two gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Chad astonished the swimming world by beating the great Michael Phelps to take the 200m butterfly title at the 2012 London Olympic Games. At the 2013 FINA World Championships, he became the second man - after Phelps - to win the 100/200m butterfly double. In 2024 he has qualified to compete in the Paris Olympic Games.

Giulio won a world championship bronze medal, and gold at the 2013 World Student Games.

In 2008 William set a new South African record (2:06.85) to earn a bronze medal at the 9th FINA World Short Course Championships in Manchester. Later that year he also finished twelfth in the 200 m breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In 2008 she won gold and bronze medals at the FINA World Championships in Manchester.

Coach Alisdair Hatfield in Durban was his swimming coach since age 9 when Henri won a bronze medal for triathlon at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. In 2018 he won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Coached by Simon Gray in Bloemfontein before taking up a scholarship at Alabama, Zane won gold in the 50m backstroke at the 2019 FINA World LC Championships.

Holder of multiple world records for the 100 and 200 breaststroke - both long course and short course, Tatjana also won the 200m event at the 2020 Olympic Games. 

In 2022 two World Championships medals in the 50m breaststroke event - a silver medal at the FINA World SC Championships in Australia, and a bronze at the World LC Championships in Hungary. 

The Pietermaritzburg local has set a junior world record, won an NCAA tile, and in 2022 a gold medal at the FINA world SC championships. 

In 2024 at the FINA LC World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Pieter won a bronze medal in the Men's 200-metre backstroke.