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."

Van Olimpiese ster tot mediese dokter

“Jou hart en siel moet in die sport wees om dit te maak.”

May 30, 2016

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Olimpiese swemmer, Lize-Mari Retief het agt jaar laas kompeterend deelgeneem en haar swempet intussen gebêre. Sy hoop om teen 2018 ‘n gekwalifiseerde dokter te wees.

“Ek is nie spyt dat ek opgehou het nie, ek het begin lewe. Vir 21 jaar was dit al wat ek gedoen het, maar ek sal dit weer doen. Ek het geweet ek kan nie ‘n lewe uit swem maak nie en wou graag trou en kinders hê. Ek lewe nou ‘n ander droom – om ‘n ma te wees.”

Klein Eira Luvé is verlede jaar in Mei gebore. Lize-Mari het haar sielsgenoot, Colin van Staden wat nou op ‘n proeftydperk by die Steval Pumas is, in 2006 op universiteit ontmoet. Die trouklokke het in 2014 vir die twee gelui.

“Ek het altyd gesê ek sal nooit ‘n rugbyspeler date nie, maar ek het hom beter leer ken en al hoe meer van hom begin hou. Colin is vir drie jaar Frankryk toe en in my vyfde jaar het ons verloof geraak.” Hulle het in 2014 na die Laeveld verhuis nadat Colin ‘n pos in Sabie by York Timbers aanvaar het.

Sy is tans besig met haar internskap by Themba Hospitaal, waar sy haarself oor twee jaar in ‘n praktyk sien. Die 29-jarige is ‘n gebore Bloemfonteiner en swem al sedert sy agt jaar oud is.

Daar is nie ‘n sportsoort wat sy nie beoefen het nie – van perdy tot karate. “Sodra ek moeggeraak het vir iets, het ek opgehou,by ‘n skoolgala in gr. 2, het een van die swemafrigters vir my ouers gesê dat ek regtig talent het. Ek wou ook ophou swem, maar my pa het net sy voet neergesit.”

Die Retiefs het daarna na Johannesburg verhuis waar Lize-Mari van gr. 5 af vir St Mary’s geswem het. Twee jaar later is sy vir die eerste keer vir ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse span gekies wat in Brasilië gaan deelneem het. Na skool is sy na die Hoëprestasiesentrum (HPC) by die Universiteit van Pretoria, waar sy sportwetenskap studeer het.

Sy het haar land in 2003 by die Afrika-spele verteenwoordig, in 2006 by die Statebondspele en in 2007 by die Wêreld-kortbadkampioenskappe. By die Statebondspele het sy ‘n bronsmedalje in die 50m-vlinderslag om haar nek gehang. Sy het in die semi’s tydens die Olimpiese Spele uitgeval. “Jou hart en siel moet in die sport wees om dit te maak.”

https://lowvelder.co.za/336038/van-olimpiese-ster-tot-mediese-dokter/  

Jean was born on the 5th October 1987 in Johannesburg where he attended St. Stithians Boys College and swam under coach Peter Williams at the Waterborn Swimming Club. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Jean was a member of the South African relay team that won a silver in the medley relay and a bronze in the 800 freestyle relay. Jean split 47,65 in the medley relay and posted the fasted South African team time in the 800 freestyle relay with a 1:47.82. In the 200m freestyle, he finished 4th, 0,2 behind third place and 0,6 behind the winner.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing Jean again finished 4th in the 200m freestyle. His time of 1:45,97 while American Peter Vanderkaay touched in 1:45,14. Michael Phelps won the race in a WR time of 1:42,96. In the London Olympic Games in 20212, Jean returned a 1:47,89 in the 800 freestyle relay - all, four other South African swimmers finished in 1:47.

He was a six-time South African Junior Champion in 2001 and 2002, and at the 2005 Senior Nationals, he was the South African champion in the 200-meter freestyle and finished third in the 400-meter freestyle. In 2006, defended his title as the 200-meter freestyle champion and placed third in the 100-meter freestyle.

In 2006 Jean won a scholarship to the University of Arizona, where all of the four heroes from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games 400 freestyle relay had been based.  From 2006 - 2010 he picked up an astonishing 15 All-America honours, a pair of Pac-10 Conference championships in the 500-meter free event, and earned both individual and team NCAA Championships. In 2020 he was inducted into the Arizona Hall of Fame. 

Arguably, Jean's best achievement was at the 2009 NCAA  championships where he won the 500-yard freestyle. He also took 4th place in the 200.

A  list of his best times can be found here.

Jean Basson racing Michael Phelps in 2008

Personal Best Times

Basson takes the baton

15 August, 2008

When Roland Schoeman touched the wall after the 50m freestyle at the Athens Olympics four years ago, he held three fingers up, with his thumb and index finger in the shape of a “C”.

It wasn’t because he’d just won his third medal of the Games, though. While it was a sign probably unfamiliar to most South Africans, American college swimmers easily recognised it as the WC of the Arizona Wildcats.

Four years on, South Africa may not be experiencing quite the same level of success in the pool, but there’s another South African Wildcat, who four years from now may just be causing the same sort of waves his teammate did in Athens.

He’s only 20 years old, but Jean Basson has shown clear signs of greater things to come, finishing just outside of the medals at his first Olympic Games.

Johannesburg-born Basson powered his way through the heats and semifinals of the 200m freestyle to make it to his biggest race to date, lining up in the final next to the likes of Michael Phelps and Peter Vanderkaay.

And although many of his teammates have failed to produce the goods in the morning swims when it really counted, the former St Stithians star kept his cool to finish in fourth place in 1:45,97.

It’s said that fourth is the worst spot to finish at an Olympics, just missing out on a podium spot, but there was no sign of disappointment for Basson, who knows he’ll have another chance.

“That was a lot of fun,” he beamed after the race. “Going into the final, I really just wanted to savour the moment and enjoy it and I definitely did that. I’m happy with the outcome. I gave it my all. I didn’t have anything left in the tank at the end so I’m happy that I gave it my best shot,” he added.

Basson said he was unaware of where exactly Phelps, who went on to shatter yet another world record in the race, was in the pool, as he simply tried to stick with Vanderkaay, whom he knew would be in the medals.

“It’s cool for me to see that in my first major international final, at the Olympics, I came fourth. It gives me a lot of motivation to go back to Arizona and train harder and improve on things like my starts and my turns and the next time hopefully I can grab a medal,” he said.

While Basson would be the first to give plenty of credit to his previous coach in South Africa, former Olympian Peter Williams, he points to the training environment in Arizona as a massive boost to his training. In Tucson, he trains alongside the likes of Schoeman as well as Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and a host of international stars from around the world.

In fact, the University of Arizona has 25 athletes competing at these Games in Beijing. They have had at least one athlete at every Olympics since 1960 and have notched up a collection of 62 Olympic medals over the years, 32 of them gold. (Another teammate, Ryk Neethling, has the distinction of being one of just three Wildcats to have competed at four Olympics.)

It’s little wonder Basson is inspired every time he goes to training. “We have an amazing training environment, starting with the coaches we have there. Their whole goal in life is just to make us better in the pool and make us better people overall,” he explained.

“And just from that, there’s developed an amazing tradition of people that go there and amazing people you train with and race against every day.”

With this kind of environment available, it seems a pity that the powers that be in South African swimming have sometimes made life difficult for United States-based swimmers, particularly when it is so evident that this is where most of the country’s swimming success stories have been bred over the years.

Athens was a testament to that and it seems Beijing will be too.

And once it’s time for the Schoemans and Neethlings of the world to hand over the baton to their younger counterparts, Basson has proved he is ready and more than capable of carrying on the Wildcat tradition.

Jean's LinkedIn Profile:

Financial services professional and CFA Charterholder currently serving as the Head of Retail Competitive Strategy at Vanguard. Prior experience includes over two years in Corporate Strategy at Vanguard and over five years in client facing roles serving Vanguard’s retail and institutional clients. Prior to Vanguard I represented South Africa as a swimmer in the Beijing and London Olympic Games.

While at the University of Arizona as a student-athlete I majored in finance and was a four-time NCAA swimming champion. I am also a dual-citizen of South Africa and the United States.

Jan Albert Venter (also Jasper Venter) was born on 23 April 1988 in Hartenbos in the Western Cape. He attended the TuksSport High School from 2012-2016. Jasper was a coach at the Pecanwood College Aquatics in Hartbeespoort before taking up the role of head coach at Uniswim in Nelspruit between 2016-2023. Today he is the head swim coach at the Burley Griffin Swimming Club in Canberra, Australia.

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, Jasper Venter won a bronze medal, as a member of the South African team, in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay. He also helped his team to claim the title in the same relay distance at the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, posting a meet record time of 7:33.63.

Venter qualified as a member of the South African team for the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by placing third in the same distance as the national championships (1:50.60)

2008 Olympic Games finalist, 2009 World Championships finalist, 2010 Commonwealth Games medalist, 2011 World Championships finalist, 2011 All Africa Games medalist.

Personal Best Times

Pecanwood now a performance centre for swimming

January 10, 2014

Left: The proud team behind the imitative are from left Brandon Venter Head of Sport at PWC, Carla de Brito MIC PWC Swimming, Mike Farrer Senior Headmaster PWC, Dave Norman Project Consultant Swim SA and Jasper Venter PWC coach and ex-Olympic swimmer.

In what is considered a huge achievement, Pecanwood College has just been granted the status of a Swimming South Africa Performance Centre, one of only 11 schools in the country. Swim South Africa (SSA) and the College will take part in activities to identify swimmers with national and Olympic potential as well as academic talent, aged between 13 and 18 years for secondary school, and between 10 and 13 for primary school, to participate in this elite swimming programme that will be overseen by SSA national head coach, Dean Price. Not only will the elite swimmers benefit, but all swimmers at the school will be exposed to new coaching techniques, guest appearances by top coaches and an overall improvement of swimming at the College. The necessary academic and swimming infrastructures will be offered to the potential participants and ultimately, PWC will strive to improve the performances of SA swimmers through various initiatives. SSA will update and expose Pecanwood staff to practical, applied trends in swimming training methods, assist in the provision of coaches’ education and training and will support PWC endeavours to source funding and sponsors to assist on the infrastructure side

Swemsensasie deel sy kennis met ander

August 10, 2016

Voormalige Suid-Afrikaanse swemsensasie, Jasper Venter het ‘n een eenjaarkontrak by Uniswim Nelspruit as hoofafrigter, geteken. Venter het by die ervare, Detlef Schmitz wat sedert 2012 by Uniswim was, oorgeneem. Die 28-jarige was deel van die 2008 Beijing Olimpiese Spele en het net die kwalifiserende tyd vir die 2012 Londen Spele met ‘n sekonde gemis. Daarna het hy nog ‘n jaar kompeterend geswem, maar toe besluit om eerder self met die stophorlosie in sy hand langs die swembad te staan.

“Ek het meer as 16 jaar se ondervinding in die sport. Dit wat ek oor die jare geleer het kan ek nou in die swemmers terugploeg,” sê Venter.

Op die brose ouderdom van net 14 jaar, is Venter gekies om by die Universiteit van Pretoria se hoë prestasie-eenheid sy swemloopbaan voort te sit. Hier het hy onder Dirk Lange, wie tans die nasionale swemspan se afrigter is, geoefen. Met die oog op 2008, het die span na Seget in Hongarye getoer waar hulle ‘n oefenkamp saam met Sandor Ban, Cameron van der Burgh se afrigter, bygewoon het. Venter was in 2009 en 2011 na die wêreldkampioenskappe, waar hy vir die aflosspan en in die vryslagitem in aksie was. Die herinneringe van die 2010 Statebondspele in Delhi, Indië sal hy vir altyd koester.

“Ons aflosspan (Darian Townsend, Jean Basson en Sebastian Rossouw) het ‘n bronsmedalje verower en daardie dag sal ek nooit vergeet nie. Dit was ‘n baie spesiale oomblik – al die harde werk wat ek ingesit het, het afbetaal. Dit is ook belangrik dat die atlete van Uniswim besef wat dit vat om daar uit te kom.”

Hy het in Noordwes grootgeword waar hy 74 rekords in die provinsie in vlinder- en vryslag gebreek het. Tussen 2007 en 2011 het hy ook sy land by in die Mare Nostrum-reeks in Europa verteenwoordig. By die Afrikaspele in 2011, het hy met drie medaljes weggestap.

“Daar is ‘n hele paar swemmers by Uniswim wat groot potensiaal wys. Dit gaan harde werk vat om vir die nuwe seisoen voor te berei. Ek sien uit na die toekoms van swem in die Laeveld en ek wil die geleentheid met albei hande gryp.”

Venter is ‘n gekwalifiseerde vlak-een-afrigter van die Amerikaanse Swem Afrigting Vereniging en is besig om sy vlak twee en drie te voltooi.

Help this young star on her path to the Olympics

7 Jun 2019 

Nelspruit swimming sensation, Brooklyn Croxon (15) is making waves. The grade nine Curro Nelspruit School pupil has her sights set high. She is af­filiated with Uniswim and swims provincially for Mpumalanga. The young swimmer intends on making her mark in the world of championship swimming. She started doing it competitively at the age of 10 and said she has always been a keen athlete.

“At the age of 13, I was involved in other sports like athletics and netball, but swimming has always been my favourite sport and the one I excelled in.” Brooklyn recalled bagging her first gold medal at a small school gala at the age of 10, and said she knew then that this was where her passion lay. “I became determined to beat the competition and I started training harder.” Clearly driven by the need to succeed, she added that her biggest driver is the results of her hard work and being a role model for her peers. Her dream is to achieve more at the South African National Junior swim meet. The young swimmer admits that she has not always taken gold there and said she always tries to improve through hard work and a rigorous exercise regimen. Her coach, Jasper Venter, himself an Olympic swimmer, said in his seven years of coaching the sport, Brooklyn’s determination and sheer grit are a sight to behold. “She is a very good freestyle and breaststroke swimmer, and is possibly the best in the province and the country. “Brooklyn is very dedicated and hardly ever misses training. Her achievements in the pool show that it is not just talent, but the hard work she puts in behind the scenes which makes competing look easy for her.” The 50-, 100- and 200-metre breaststroke and freestyle specialist has bagged a considerable haul of medals in these distances and looks to add more to her cache.

This year, Brooklyn was selected to represent South Africa to compete in the European Swim City Competition in Bologne, Italy. The itinerary includes a trip to Pesaro where she and the other swimmers will participate in the Treviso Swim Cup on June 28 and 29. The swimmers will leave South Africa on June 18 and Brooklyn is the only Mpumalanga swimmer to have been selected. The tour will cost €1,340 and includes accommodation, meals, transport and all day visits to Venice. Additional costs like flights, spending money, gala entry fees and visa costs are not included and will have to be carried by the swimmers. In order to raise the funds required to send Brooklyn to Italy, the Croxon family are hosting a golf day on June 20 at the Matumi Golf Estate. Once she qualifies in Europe, the determined young swimmer will qualify to compete at the Olympics in Japan

Jacobus Coenradus de Beer "Jackie" Wiid was born on the 19th April 1929.

He was a backstroke swimmer who won a gold medal in the 100m event at the 1950 Commonwealth Games in Auckland. In the 100m freestyle, he finished 5th.

Jackie also competed at the 1948 London Olympic Games where he finished 6th. 

Sydney Morning Herald - 11th February, 1950.

Big Jack Wiid would never have won the Empire Games 110 yards backstroke in record time to-day, but for failing in his school exams three years ago.

Wiid was chosen to represent Northern transvaal in the South African swimming championships in 1946, but his father refused to let him him accept because he failed in his examinations.

Wiid said:"I was upset at that, and made up my mind to pass the next year. I did, and went on to the championships. I won the backstroke title."

Wiid is now the South African backstroke and freestyle  sprint champion. He is only 20, and instructs police in swimming in Pretoria.

Wiid's time of 1:07,7 was 0,2 seconds fater than the old record. It was his fastest and hardest swim