Lize-Mari Retief

Lize-Mari was born in November 1986 in Bloemfontein, but she attended St Mary's School in Johannesburg, where she swam with coach Dean Price. During her career, she held eight South African records. In 2018 her 50m butterfly record for girls under 13, set in November 2000, was still the Transvaal/CGA age-group record. 

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, she won a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly, tying with Alice Mills of Australia at 26,76.

At the South African Championships held at Ellis Park in March 2001 14-year-old Lize Mari finished second behind Mandy Loots in the women's 200m butterfly. The next year, at the 2002 Short course Championships she won 5 titles!

In the 2003 All-Africa Games, she won the most individual medals of any female swimmer: 5 golds and 1 silver.

At the 2007 South African Short-course Championships in Pietermaritzburg Lize-Mari Retief lowered her African record of the meet. Retief lowered Amanda Loots' previous 100 fly record of 58.42 twice throughout the day. Retief clocked a 58.41 during semifinal swimming, before coming back with a time of 57.53 to claim the national title in front of Loots' second-place 58.16.

In the 2008 South African Nationals, she set 3 South African Records: 50 free, 50 fly and 100 fly. Later that year Lize Mari competed in 4 events at the Beijing Olympic Games. Her best performance was setting an African record in the 100 butterfly semi-final, but she did not make it into the final.

In 2006 she began to study medicine at the University of Pretoria and in 2014 married fellow Tukkies student professional rugby player Colin van Staden. She swam at the annual inter-varsity championships in 2006 and 2007, setting several records which still stand in 2023.

2006 Commonwealth Games - Danni Miatke, second from right, shows off her gold medal for the 50m butterfly. Australia's Jessicah Schipper, left, won silver and Australia's Alice Mills, right, and South Africa's Liza Mari Retief, second from left, dead heated for bronze.

Lize-Marie a hit at short-course championship

24 SEPTEMBER 2002

Lize-Mari Retief is 15 years old and weighs a mere 49kg. The medals she won during the South African short course swimming championship on Tuesday probably weighed nearly as much. But, after clinching her third, fourth and fifth individual titles of the four-day gala on Tuesday, the Johannesburg youngster was oblivious to the ripples she had caused in swimming circles.

The diminutive St Mary's (Waverley) schoolgirl had other things on her mind. "I'm a little worried because I am exhausted and I haven't even done my homework for tomorrow yet," grinned Retief, who also won two silver medals in the seven individual events she entered. "Maybe if I take all my medals to school tomorrow, I'll be excused for not finishing my project," she joked. "I need an early night tonight and I'll be taking it easy for the rest of the week." Remarkably, the youngster didn't taper for these championships as she is still in training mode for the bigger meets coming up.

She hopes that her coach, Dean Price, can get her into a World Cup meet overseas in January and then she'll be competing in the longcourse nationals in Durban next April, when she will come up against her role model and training partner, Olympic and Commonwealth Games star Mandy Loots. "Mandy is someone I look up to," says Retief. "She is such a versatile swimmer and has a great personality, and I really enjoy training with her." Her long-term goal is to qualify, in her favourite butterfly discipline, for the 2004 Athens Olympics. For the record, Retief on Tuesday won the 200m individual medley, in 2min 22,27sec, the 100m butterfly (62,73) and the 200m backstroke (2:21,28) to add to her 100m IM and 200m fly titles over the weekend. She finished second to Loots in the 50m fly and 50m backstroke events.

Lize-Mari Sets New African Record Lize-Mari Retief is feeling on top of the world after her African record-breaking feat in the 100 metres butterfly took her to the top of the FINA short course world rankings, on the final day of the Telkom SA Short Course Championships just completed in Pietermaritzburg. All the water in the GC Jollife swimming pool could not quench Retief’s fiery onslaught, as the Pretoria University student clocked a winning time of 57,53 seconds – superior to her continental best of 58,41 posted the previous evening.

Such was the momentum of the showpiece final that the experienced Amanda Loots – who held the African record at 58,42 prior the start of the championships – took the silver medal on offer in a speedy 58,16. "I knew I would have to go out hard over the first 50 metres as Loots is a tough competitor, and not one to give up easily," said an excited Retief afterwards.

"My coach told me that the effort would hurt and it did, but it was all worth it as I missed swimming fast times during my few months absence from competitive swimming due to illness," said Retief. Word is that Swimming SA’s statisticians are considering making an ink stamp with her name on, it after having had to fill her name in on two occasions as she posted African best times in the 50 metres butterfly. That record, also formerly held by Loots, now stands at 26,03.

SA swimmer sets All Africa Games record 7 OCTOBER 2003 Abuja - South Africa's Lize-Mari Retief broke the All African Games record - twice - in the women's 50m butterfly on Monday as her nation's swim team dominated the pool for a second day on Monday, winning five golds to go with the four it won a day earlier. Retief lowered the record in the sprint to 27,94 seconds in the preliminary heat, then broke that in the final with a mark of 27,56 seconds.

South Africa, Egypt dominate African swimming championship 07 May 2004 Rabat, Morocco, 05/07 - At the 7th African swimming championship held in Casablanca, South African swimmer Lize-Mari Retief won the gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke in 1`02"71 and 31"02 respectively.

2007 South African Short Course: Lize-Mari Retief Sets African Standard in 50 Butterfly PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, September 29 LIZE-Mari Retief lit the pool on fire at the South African Short Course Championships during the opening morning of preliminary and semifinal action. Retief eclipsed the previous African record (26.65) of Chanelle van Wyk set last year on Sept. 28. Retief blasted off the blocks during prelims with a top-time of 26.56, before coming back during semis to clock a 26.61.

Retief's African record of 26.56 moved her to 15th in the world this year behind France's Diane Bui Duyet (26.49) and ahead of The Netherlands' Chantal Groot (26.62). "In short course, there is not a lot of swimming so one as to focus on getting a good start and making a good turn," Retief said to Swimming South Africa. "I never went out there with the aim of setting an African record, but knew that I would have to put in a solid performance because there is so much up-and-coming young talent, that one never knows where the challenge is going to come from."