Henri Schoeman (born 3 October 1991) 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 The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

where he won a bronze medal, and the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, where he won a silver medal in the mixed relay. He is the brother of the South African swimmer,

Riaan Schoeman Riaan Schoeman (born 18 September 1989 in Vereeniging) is a South African swimmer who specializes in the Individual Medley and Freestyle events. He is a multiple-time South African champion and record holder for the Individual Medley and Frees ...

. His bronze at Rio in 2016 is the first Olympic medal South Africa has won in the sport. In 2021, he competed in the men's triathlon at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

held in Tokyo, Japan.

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. However, he suffered stress fractures in his shins in 2009 which kept him from competing for two years. A mountainbike 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. Schoeman won the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final September 18, 2016, placing him 4th overall for the series. Schoeman was due to finish 3rd, but

Alistair Brownlee Alistair Edward Brownlee MBE (born 23 April 1988) is a British triathlete. He is the only athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time World Champion ...

slowed to help his brother

Jonny Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is ''Jonnie''. People with the name *J ...

over the line. During this assist, Schoeman passed the Brownlee brothers, and won gold. 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".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoeman, Henri 1991 births Living people Afrikaner people South African people of German descent South African male triathletes Triathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes of South Africa Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in triathlon Olympic bronze medalists for South Africa Commonwealth Games medallists in triathlon Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa People from Vereeniging Triathletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Gauteng Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century South African people 21st-century South African people