Four Former Wildcats Inducted into South African Sports Hall of Fame

Four University of Arizona swimmers who set a world record in the 400-meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympic Games were inducted into the South African Sports Hall of Fame last month.

Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and Ryk Neethling, who led South Africa to an Olympic gold medal in Athens, all swam for the University of Arizona at some point in their extensive and accomplished careers.

After coming in eighth at the 2003 World Championships, the South African men won Olympic gold just one year later, staging a shocking upset of the heavily favored United States and beating the world record in the process with a time of 3:13.17. Townsend described the athletes' recent induction into the hall of fame as "unexpected" but "a great thing to be a part of," with the induction ceremony taking place at a popular casino in Johannesburg, South Africa.

While the relay team members competed at Arizona at different times, the four swimmers all received major accolades and accomplishments during their tenure as Wildcats. 

On top of the relay gold at the 2004 Olympic Games, Schoeman also attained a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle and a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle. Schoeman won the 2002 NCAA Championship in the 50-meter freestyle, in addition to overall runner-up finishes and multiple All-American distinctions. Schoeman was the men's 50-meter butterfly champion at the World Championships in 2005 and 2006. A 4x-Olympian in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, he was also the former individual world record holder in the LCM 50 butterfly, SCM 50 freestyle, SCM 100 freestyle, and SCM 100 individual medley. 

In 2006, just two years after his history-making relay swim, Ferns finished his collegiate career as the NCAA champion in the 100-meter butterfly, setting a school record of 45.89 seconds. In this same year, Ferns was a member of the 400 freestyle, 400 medley and 800 freestyle NCAA Championship relay teams that helped boost the Wildcats to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships. During his time at Arizona, Ferns earned eight individual First Team All- America honors and 15 relay All-America honors. Ferns also competed in the 2008 Olympics in the 100-meter butterfly, 100-meter freestyle, 4x100 freestyle relay, and the 4x100 medley relay. 

In his time at Arizona, Neethling was a nine-time NCAA individual champion, a four-time Pac-10 Conference Swimmer of the Year, a seven-time Pac-10 Conference individual champion, a 17-time All-American, and the 1998-1999 NCAA Division I Swimmer of the Year. Neethling has also held over 20 junior national records and 22 South African National titles and was honored with the University of Arizona Athlete of the Century Award. Neethling was the first South African to participate in four Olympic games, competing in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.  

Townsend swam as a Wildcat from 2006-2008, transferring to Arizona from the University of Florida two years after his historic win with the South African relay in Athens. In his first year as a Wildcat, Townsend won the 200-meter free NCAA title and the 800-meter freestyle relay NCAA title, helping the Arizona men finish third as a team. Then, in 2008, Townsend won a national title for the 200-meter individual medley and was also a member of the 400-meter free and 400 medley National Championship relay teams for Arizona. After his success at the 2004 Olympics and swimming collegiately, Townsend went on to compete in two more Olympic Games: Beijing 2008 and London 2012. 

Townsend described his experience at the University of Arizona as "really special."

Townsend also praised the talented coaching staff at Arizona and said he was motivated in large part by the accomplishments and records set by his peers (including his South African teammates Schoeman, Neethling and Ferns). 

"One of the things that I really enjoyed about the University of Arizona swimming pool was the record boards that were up on the building there. I looked at those every single day. You know, before I was getting in the water, if we were doing kick sets … seeing non-individual national titles next to Ryk's name and things like that was the motivation that got me to work as hard as I possibly could," Townsend said. 

The success of these swimmers, and their recognition in South Africa, is a testament to their work ethic and a contribution to the legacy of the University of Arizona Swimming and Diving program.