Pierre van der Westhuyzen

South African/Australian canoeist (born 2003)
Pierre van der Westhuyzen
Personal information
NationalitySouth African/Australian
Born (2003-08-18) August 18, 2003 (age 21)[1]
Bellville, South Africa
Home townGold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportSprint kayak
EventK-4 500 m
Medal record
Men's canoe sprint
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris K-4 500 m

Pierre van der Westhuyzen (born August 18, 2003) is a South African canoeist. He represented Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Van der Westhuyzen was born in Bellville, South Africa, and grew up in Cape Town. He and his brother, Jean, began canoeing while attending Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal.[2][3]

Career

He competed at the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in the K-4 500 metres event and finished in fourth place with a time of 1:19.905. As a result, they qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[4] At the Olympics he competed in the K-4 500 metres event and won a silver medal.[5] Following a photo finish, they missed winning the gold medal by 0.04 seconds.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Pierre van der Westhuyzen". olympics.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "Brotherly Bond drives Olympic selection". bond.edu.au. March 13, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "Pierre van der Westhuyzen". olympics.com.au. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Smirnova, Lena (August 25, 2023). "ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships: Germany regains men's K-4 500m crown as 86 athletes secure Paris 2024 quotas for their federations". olympics.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "SportParis Olympics: Australia win silver medal in men's kayak four 500m sprint". abc.net.au. August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  6. ^ Jeffrey, Daniel (August 8, 2024). "Aussie men's four denied gold by millimetres after agonising wait for photo". nine.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.


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