Henri Schoeman
Henri Schoeman was born on 3 October 1991 in Vereeniging. He is the brother of the South African swimmer, Riaan Schoeman.
“I was born in Vereeniging and when we moved down to Durban my parents wanted my brother, Riaan and I, to start swimming lessons. My dad, Joe, was also runner and he competed in a number of half-marathons and duathlons. He was obviously a big influence on us growing up. After a few lessons, my coach, Alisdair Hatfield, who saw potential in me, told my parents that I could excel in the sport.
Henri finishing his first Midmar Mile.
Schoeman was a strong swimmer at school and soon progressed to be a strong talent at long-distance swimming for his country. He switched sports to take up the triathlon in his mid-teens and won the Under 19 South African championship.
He represented his country at the 2016 ITU Grand Final in Cozumel, where he won the gold medal. The win came in the final 500m, as Schoeman bypassed Jonathan Brownlee (GBR), who struggling in the heat, and Alistair Brownlee (GBR), who had stopped to help will his brother over the line.
In the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won a silver medal in the mixed relay - with Gillian Sanders, Kate Roberts and Richard Murray. All four athletes on a team must complete a super-sprint triathlon - 300m swim, approx 6.6km bike and 1km run - before tagging off to a teammate.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal, which was South Africa's first, and so far only, Olympic medal in the sport.
He won the triathlon gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
His bronze at Rio in 2016 is the first Olympic medal South Africa has won in the sport.
In 2021, he competed in the men's triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.
“I really enjoyed swimming and my results became an indicator to me that I could do this. In primary school, I was the Victor Ludorum at nearly every swimming gala and in high school I was the best endurance swimmer in the country in my age group. After a while though, my performances in the pool waned and I decided to make the choice of swapping to triathlons. Having a swimming background, I made the transition, which was slow at first, but I really found my niche,” he explained.
2014 Commonwealth Games Mixed Relay silver medal winners from South Africa - Kate Roberts, Henri Schoeman, Gillian Sanders and Richard Murray.
Henri Schoeman Born to be an Olympian
25 July 2016
In the quarter century that Henri Schoeman’s been alive, there’s never been a time when he wasn’t involved in some sort of sport. Growing up with a father who excelled in running, cycling and duathlon, Henri and his brother Riaan would often join him at the track.
Later they would do surf lifesaving and become champion swimmers. In high school Henri became the best long distance swimmer in his age group in South Africa; but it was at the age of 17 that Henri decided to shift focus and transition into triathlon. In the triathlon, Henri would go on to win the national u/19 Triathlon Championships for two consecutive years, win the African Championship 4 times, win the world cup and come home with a silver in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the UK.
To say Henri Schoeman was born to be an Olympian would be an understatement.
“I’ve dreamt of going to the Olympics since I can remember.”
Dreaming and doing are vastly different and getting to the Olympics has meant a tough training schedule and early nights.
“I wake up at 04:55, go to swimming, and finish around 07:00, I would then have breakfast and start my bike session. This is followed by a nap and lunch. At around 15:00 I start getting ready for either a hard or easy run. Afterwards, I will have an ice bath for recovery and then I have dinner. I try to get to bed between 21:00 and 22:00.”
