Kayla Swarts: Pioneering Dual Olympic Representation from a Sporting Legacy

Kayla Swarts is in a league of her own and continues to push the benchmark in South African sport. At 21 years old, the athlete has broken boundaries and has represented the country in two different sporting codes.

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za Swarts talks about what’s next in her career after participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics and making the swift transition to rugby later in the same year.

Early Life and Sporting Journey

“I didn’t think I’d play my first rugby tournament only two months after making the change,” says Swarts as she detailed how her journey in sports began.

“It was really special to me because just before we went to the Paris Olympics I thought back to 2016 when I went to the Rio Olympics to watch my brother [Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk] and seeing him compete on the world stage and how proud my family was, I told myself that day that I really want to put myself in a position to also do and achieve what my brother did.”

Taking her brother’s triumph at the time when he became the 400m world and Olympic record holder, Swarts knew right then and there that greatness was attainable. As her passion for sports ignited even more, she began to dream bigger.

“My aim was always to go to the Olympics but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. So, to me that was really special,” the 21-year-old explained.

“It was like a full-circle moment. Coming from watching my brother compete in 2016 to being at the [2024] Olympics and having him there with me, both of us competing on the world’s biggest stage – it was quite special.”

2024 Paris Olympics: Decisions Surrounding Passion for Both Hockey and Rugby  

As a person who was always drawn to playing sports, Swarts explored netball, football and others before committing to hockey and it definitely paid off.

She received the opportunity to play for the U/16 squad and in the Netherlands. Before she knew it, she was selected for the first team and the Olympic dream began to shape up more as a reality.

At this point, she had fallen in love with rugby but had to make a decision to keep her mission of representing South Africa in Paris this year intact. 

“I was invited to a development camp [for rugby] last year already, and I think that just the athletic nature that I have from growing up in a sports family really helped me enjoy the experience of going to that rugby camp,” Swarts said as she reflected.

“So, I was actually wanting to explore more into rugby but I had to put my focus on my Olympic dreams, so I took a break from it for a while and then once I achieved the dream of going to Paris I thought that there’s nothing to lose.”

She began laughing softly on the phone call during the interview as she looked back at how things shifted so quickly in her favour.

“I joined the camp again and from there things just seamlessly did transition into me playing my first rugby tournament in Dubai.”

“I didn’t even balance the two,” Swarts explains as many think she was playing both rugby and hockey for an extended period of time. The development camp was only for a few weeks and she let it go to focus on the Olympics.

“That was it for rugby until October [this year]. I’ve only officially been playing rugby for two months now.”

“I want to put myself in the best position to possibly make the team for next year’s Challenger Series and our team goal is to qualify back into the HSBC circuit.”

Family Values Birth Fearless Bok Women’s Sevens Treasure

Swarts’ sporty family means the world to her, and she gushed about how much support she received from her loved ones as she made the switch. Also, her cousin is two-time Rugby World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe. 

“Everything happened so fast and once again I think it’s just that support from my family,” she continued.

“My family is my backbone so there’s nothing that I had to be scared of. Whether it worked out or not I know that they will always be there for me. There isn’t that sense of fear when it comes to change.”

New Dream: 2028 LA Games In Full View

Now that Swarts has committed to rugby and has already played in an international tournament, her next goal is to make history by becoming the first South African to represent the country at the Summer Olympics in two different sporting codes.

“Now that I’ve had a feel and a taste for what the Paris 2024 Olympics was like, I am aiming to possibly go to LA 2028 for rugby. I think that it would be massive to represent South Africa in two different sports at the Olympic Games,” she stated as the interview reached its conclusion.

Kayla Swarts is only in her early twenties but she has mapped out what she aspires to be in South African sports, paving the way for her to possibly become an SA Hall of Famer.