Ryk Neethling
A defining moment in the lives of these four men. The South African squad of Roland Schoeman (split 48:38), Lyndon Ferns (48:34), Darian Townsend (49:13) and Ryk Neethling(47:99) - clocked 3 minutes and 13.17 seconds to triumph over the Netherlands (2nd) and the US team (3rd).
An unhappy looking Michael Phleps had to settle for the bronze.
Born in Bloemfontein, he attended Grey College, where he excelled in swimming under coach Simon Gray at the Seals SC. In 1994 Ryk broke the 1500m freestyle South African record by ten seconds - set by his coach Simon Gray in March 1976. He won the 400 and 1500m freestyle events at the 1995 SA swimming championships.
Despite not making the Olympic qualifying time for the 1500 at the 1996 South African Olympic trials, Ryk was selected on the strength of his swim at the 1995 Pan Pacific championships, which was under the qualifying time. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he came fifth in the 1500 m freestyle.
Immediately following the Games he was enrolled at The University of Arizona. His record of achievements at Arizona includes being the 9 times NCAA National Champion, Arizona Athlete of the Year, and PAC-10 Athlete of the Year for four consecutive years, 1999 NCAA Swimmer of the Year, and the University of Arizona Athlete of the Century award.
He continued his international career at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, winning the silver medal in the 1500 m freestyle, but only managing fifth at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships. In 1999 he had a much better Pan Pacific Championships winning silver in the 1500 m freestyle, and bronze in the 400 m and 200 m freestyle. After achieving a disappointing 5th in the 1500 m freestyle event and 8th in the 400 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney he elected to discontinue competing in the 1500 m event, concentrating instead on the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events.
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, he won a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle and came 4th in the 50 m freestyle events. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he won silver in the 100 m freestyle and was part of the S.A. gold medal-winning 4×100 m freestyle relay team.
He held the South African record in the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m freestyle events, and the 4×100 m freestyle relay world record.
The highlight of his career thus far has been winning a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He also placed 4th in the individual 100 m freestyle.
In November 2005, he announced that he had refused a multimillion-dollar offer by Qatar's Olympic body to switch nationalities and swim for Qatar at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he become the first South African to participate in four successive Olympic Games.
Today he is a shareholder and marketing director of Val de Vie Estate in Franschhoek.
He was named CEO of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation which focuses on raising awareness around water safety.
By the time Ryk Neethling finished his college swimming career, he was a nine-time NCAA individual champion, a four-time Pac-10 Conference Swimmer of the Year, a seven-time Pac-10 Conference individual champion, a 17-time All-American, the 1998-1999 NCAA Division 1 Swimmer of the Year, and an Olympian. At the time of his induction, Ryk held the South African record in five different events and ranked in the top ten in the world in the 50, 100, and 200 Freestyle and Individual Medleys.
Ryk’s nine career individual NCAA titles were the most by any student-athlete in the 100-plus-year history of Arizona Wildcat Athletics. The nine titles also tied for the third-best overall in the 81-year history of NCAA men’s swimming and Ryk became only the eighth man in NCAA swimming history to win three back-to-back national championships. Amazingly, all 17 of Ryk’s All-America selections are of the first-team variety, meaning he finished in the top-8 of every race that he entered during his four years.
Ryk has held over 20 junior national records and 22 South African National titles. He has represented South Africa and medalled in three Commonwealth Games, the most in South African history. He has also been a five-time finalist in the Olympics and the World Championships.
Ryk Neethling / Marketing Director and Shareholder of the Val de Vie Group of Companies
Ryk Neethling has played an instrumental role since his appointment in 2009 as the Marketing Director & Shareholder of the Val de Vie Group of Companies. Ryk’s business career started while he spent time in the real estate industry in the USA, assisting in the development, management and sales of various commercial properties in Arizona and California. This experience equipped him in establishing Cape Winelands Properties, the official on-site property agency for Val de Vie Estate, with his business partners. His strategic approach to implementing brand and marketing plans is evident in the numerous successfully sold-out developments of the Val de Vie Group of Companies. Under Ryk’s leadership, theVal de Vie brand has internationally been positioned as pioneering in the world of luxury property development. Ryk holds a BA degree in Psychology and Business from the University of Arizona. He is a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Ambassador, founder of Learn to Swim Academies, three-time World Champion and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Val de Vie Estate is proud to host the Ryk Neethling Swimming School.
As a four-time Olympian I understand that swimming techniques and philosophies are always changing. At Ryk Neethling™ Swimming Stars™, parents can feel assured that every swimming instructor will stay at the forefront with regards to technique, teaching philosophies and international best practice Learn to Swim principles and evaluations.
