| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ryk Neethling |
| Nationality | South African |
| Born | 17 November 1977 Bloemfontein |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| College team | Arizona Wildcats |
Medal record | |
Ryk Neethling OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as the three-times World Champion and four-times World Record Breaking Olympic swimming champion.
He is known as one of the most accomplished swimmers in history.
He is CEO of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa, a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Ambassador, founder of the Ryk Neethling Swimming Schools and a director and shareholder of Val de Vie Estate. He is also an international keynote and motivational speaker.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
He won an Olympic gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won three individual gold medals at the 2006 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai.
Winning nine National Collegiate Athletic Association championships makes him the third best men's swimmer in almost 100 years.[13]
He is the former joint owner of the 4×100 m freestyle relay world record and broke the 100m Individual Medley World Record three times in 2005.
He is also the first South African to compete in four successive Olympic Games.[14][15][16]
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Business from the University of Arizona, which also named him the American NCAA Swimmer of the Year and Athlete of the Century in 1999.[17][18]
- ^ "2004 Olympic Games swimming results". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 August 2004. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- ^ "Montreal 2005 Results". Archived from the original on 28 January 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
- ^ "Shanghai 2006 results". Archived from the original on 6 March 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
- ^ "Swimming Schedule and Results". Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
- ^ "BBC Sport Commonwealth Games 2002 Statistics". BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- ^ Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Val de Vie Management Team. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ On Fire Comedy Public Speaker. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Entertainment online Public Speaker. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Whacked Public Speaker. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Laureus Ryk Neethling. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Laureus News 24. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Swimming Champ who fell for Val de Vie. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation – Ryk Neethling. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ swimhistory.co.za – Ryk Neethling. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Gauteng.net – Ryk Neethling. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ 702.co.za interview. Retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ Cape Talk interview. Retrieved 4 January 2020