University of Georgia Athletics
Van Renen Wants To Finish Strong
March 24, 2026 | The Frierson Files, Men's Swimming & Diving
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
It's possible, Ruard van Renen said, that if his bicycle hadn't been stolen one day in high school, at a time when he'd stopped competitive swimming to focus on the triathlon, he might not be where he is today.
"I guess we'll never know," he said with a laugh. "I definitely think it was a message telling me, like, Oh, you have to go back to swimming."
Growing up in South Africa, van Renen said he did "every sport you can name," including rugby, triathlons, biathlons, and swimming. "I've been a pretty athletic person my whole life."
He's quit swimming a couple of times over the years. Once, he did it to focus on rugby, but his parents encouraged him to try something else due to the high number of injuries that his dad and grandfather sustained playing the sport. Later, in high school, he quit because he felt like he'd plateaued, which is when he started focusing on the triathlon.
Then, his bike got stolen about six months after he really got into triathlon. This time, he returned to swimming for good.
"So many doors opened up after that," he said. "I've traveled the world, came to the U.S. to study and swim, and I'm really happy with how things turned out."
This week, van Renen and seven other members of the Georgia men's swimming and diving team are in Atlanta for the NCAA Championships. Van Renen, a senior and seven-time All-American who has qualified for the NCAAs all four years, will compete in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100 butterfly, as well as a pair of relays. He's seeded third in the 100 back and 20th in the fly.
"It's been super fun, training and racing with the guys for one more year," van Renen said. "Just knowing it's my last year, I'm really pushing myself."
Van Renen started his collegiate career at Southern Illinois, where he was a second-team All-American in the 100 and 200 backstroke and won MAC championships in the 100 and 200 back and 100 butterfly. After transferring to Georgia following his freshman year, he's continued to get faster and faster.
"He's gone from strength to strength and kept getting better," Georgia head coach Neil Versfeld said. "His progression in all of his events has been stellar."
Van Renen is from Cape Town, and Versfeld is from Durban, about 1,000 miles away. Versfeld swam for Georgia in the late 2000s, won the NCAA title in the 200 breaststroke in 2009, and is a former NCAA record-holder in the event. He said van Renen is a great swimmer and "a fantastic human being."
"I couldn't be happier that I recruited him all those years back to come here. Time flies. He's doing exceptional things in the pool and in the classroom," Versfeld said.
Van Renen, who earned first-team All-America honors last year in the 100 backstroke, 200 back, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay, said one of the highlights of his career so far was at last year's NCAAs, when he placed third in the 100 backstroke, posting a personal-best time of 43.85.
"I didn't win, but then I looked over to my team, and they were celebrating like I won the race. That's definitely been one of my greatest memories," he said.
He's hoping to top that this week in Atlanta. Win or lose, he will keep swimming. Versfeld swam for South Africa in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and van Renen is chasing his dream of competing in the Los Angeles Games in 2028. This is his final year of eligibility, but he will remain in Athens to train while he takes his final classes before graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
"I told myself, I'll shoot myself in the foot if I don't try to make it in 2028," he said. "That will be the end goal for my swimming career, and then I'll probably quit after that."
His dream is to turn his engineering studies into a career in Formula One racing.
"Being part of some sort of racing team would be pretty cool," he said.
Studying Mechanical Engineering and being an elite swimmer isn't easy, but Van Renen said he's always been good at math and physics. And he loves a challenge.
"I like the difficulty aspect of it," he said. "I just like challenging myself; I hate sitting still, and engineering always keeps me on my toes."
And if he can close out his collegiate swimming career with a national championship, that "would be the cherry on top," van Renen said.
Staff Writer
It's possible, Ruard van Renen said, that if his bicycle hadn't been stolen one day in high school, at a time when he'd stopped competitive swimming to focus on the triathlon, he might not be where he is today.
"I guess we'll never know," he said with a laugh. "I definitely think it was a message telling me, like, Oh, you have to go back to swimming."
Growing up in South Africa, van Renen said he did "every sport you can name," including rugby, triathlons, biathlons, and swimming. "I've been a pretty athletic person my whole life."
He's quit swimming a couple of times over the years. Once, he did it to focus on rugby, but his parents encouraged him to try something else due to the high number of injuries that his dad and grandfather sustained playing the sport. Later, in high school, he quit because he felt like he'd plateaued, which is when he started focusing on the triathlon.
Then, his bike got stolen about six months after he really got into triathlon. This time, he returned to swimming for good.
"So many doors opened up after that," he said. "I've traveled the world, came to the U.S. to study and swim, and I'm really happy with how things turned out."
This week, van Renen and seven other members of the Georgia men's swimming and diving team are in Atlanta for the NCAA Championships. Van Renen, a senior and seven-time All-American who has qualified for the NCAAs all four years, will compete in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100 butterfly, as well as a pair of relays. He's seeded third in the 100 back and 20th in the fly.
"It's been super fun, training and racing with the guys for one more year," van Renen said. "Just knowing it's my last year, I'm really pushing myself."
Van Renen started his collegiate career at Southern Illinois, where he was a second-team All-American in the 100 and 200 backstroke and won MAC championships in the 100 and 200 back and 100 butterfly. After transferring to Georgia following his freshman year, he's continued to get faster and faster.
"He's gone from strength to strength and kept getting better," Georgia head coach Neil Versfeld said. "His progression in all of his events has been stellar."
Van Renen is from Cape Town, and Versfeld is from Durban, about 1,000 miles away. Versfeld swam for Georgia in the late 2000s, won the NCAA title in the 200 breaststroke in 2009, and is a former NCAA record-holder in the event. He said van Renen is a great swimmer and "a fantastic human being."
"I couldn't be happier that I recruited him all those years back to come here. Time flies. He's doing exceptional things in the pool and in the classroom," Versfeld said.
Van Renen, who earned first-team All-America honors last year in the 100 backstroke, 200 back, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay, said one of the highlights of his career so far was at last year's NCAAs, when he placed third in the 100 backstroke, posting a personal-best time of 43.85.
"I didn't win, but then I looked over to my team, and they were celebrating like I won the race. That's definitely been one of my greatest memories," he said.
He's hoping to top that this week in Atlanta. Win or lose, he will keep swimming. Versfeld swam for South Africa in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and van Renen is chasing his dream of competing in the Los Angeles Games in 2028. This is his final year of eligibility, but he will remain in Athens to train while he takes his final classes before graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
"I told myself, I'll shoot myself in the foot if I don't try to make it in 2028," he said. "That will be the end goal for my swimming career, and then I'll probably quit after that."
His dream is to turn his engineering studies into a career in Formula One racing.
"Being part of some sort of racing team would be pretty cool," he said.
Studying Mechanical Engineering and being an elite swimmer isn't easy, but Van Renen said he's always been good at math and physics. And he loves a challenge.
"I like the difficulty aspect of it," he said. "I just like challenging myself; I hate sitting still, and engineering always keeps me on my toes."
And if he can close out his collegiate swimming career with a national championship, that "would be the cherry on top," van Renen said.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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