Henri Schoeman

Henri Schoeman

Personal information
Nationality	South African
Born	(1991-10-03) 3 October 1991 Vereeniging, South Africa[1]
Residence	Durban, South Africa[1]
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)[1]
Sport
Country	RSA
Sport	Triathlon
Coached by	Joe Schoeman Alisdair Hatfield[1]
Medal record Men's triathlon Representing  South Africa Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Triathlon Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014 Mixed relay 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series ITU Grand Final Triathlon

Henri Schoeman (born 3 October 1991)^[2] is a South African triathlete. He represented his country at the 2016 ITU Grand Final in Cozumel where he won the Gold medal, the 2016 Summer Olympics where he won a bronze medal, and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where he won a silver medal in the mixed relay. He is the brother of the South African swimmer, Riaan Schoeman.^[3] His bronze at Rio in 2016 is the first Olympic medal South Africa has won in the sport.^[4]

Career

Schoeman was a strong swimmer at school and soon progressed to be a strong talent at long-distance swimming for his country. He switched sports to take up the triathlon in his mid-teens and won the Under 19 South African championship in consecutive years.^[5] However, he suffered stress fractures in his shins in 2009^[6] which kept him from competing for two years. A motorbike accident in 2011 then ruled him out of competition, but allowed him time to recuperate and build strength in his legs, allowing him to return to competition stronger.^[5]

Schoeman won the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final September 18, 2016,^[7] placing him 4th overall for the series.^[8] In the run-up to the Rio games Schoeman was suffering from a suspected respiratory illness, stating after the race: "I have had fever the whole week. The doctor only gave me the all-clear to be on the start line yesterday".^[9][10]

References