Pierre van der Westhuyzen

Sprint kayaker Pierre van der Westhuyzen is paddling a path laid down by his big brother Jean – and he’s keen to become the second Olympic gold medallist in the family.

Pierre and Jean grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and began canoeing while attending Michaelhouse school in KwaZulu Natal. Pierre represented South Africa at the Youth Olympics in Argentina.

That same year, older brother Jean moved to Australia to pursue his Olympic dreams and later went on to win gold in the K2 1000m at the Tokyo Games.

Pierre followed his brother a couple of years later, moving to the Gold Coast and starting a bachelor of actuarial science at Bond University. He quickly found a place in the Australian men’s sprint kayaking team.

“I got a lot of inspiration from Jean and seeing how well he had done when he came over to Australia and I made the decision then that this is something I could see in my future,” Pierre said.

“I’m super lucky to be here and to have this opportunity,” he said.

“Every time I pull on the uniform that’s something I realise and that I’m grateful for. I love the opportunity to wear the green and gold.”

Pierre said the bond he shares with Jean is inspiring him to push hard for an Olympic medal.

“He’s [Jean] helped me see how I can approach my journey. We’re not the exact same athlete … I’d say we are pretty different, but there’s still a lot I can learn from him and just to have him there and see that it is possible [to succeed] is a really big help for me,” he said.

In 2023, Pierre linked up with Riley Fitzsimmons, Jackson Collins and Noah Havard to win silver in the K4 500 at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poznan, Poland. He was part of the Australian team at the 2023 World Championships, where the K4 500 crew finished just outside the medals.

On Olympic debut Pierre, with fellow debutants Jackson, Noah and triple Olympian Riley collected a silver medal in the K4 500m at Paris 2024.

It was nearly gold, as a photo finish with the defending Olympic champions Germany saw them place second by just 0.04 of a second. Not since London 2012 had an Australian men's K4 team won an Olympic medal.