Kayla Swarts
Birth date24 May 2003 (age 23)
Birth placeBloemfontein. South Africa
Height178 cm
Weight71 kg
Kayla Swarts
PositionMidfielder
CurrentclubCentral[1]
Years 12022
Clubs 1Maties
Years 22023
Clubs 2NWU Pukke
Years 32024–
Clubs 3Central
Nationalyears 12023
Nationalteam 1South Africa U21
Nationalcaps 110
Nationalgoals 11
Nationalyears 22022-present
Nationalteam 2South Africa
Nationalcaps 224
Nationalgoals 20
Nationalyears 32022-present
Nationalteam 3South Africa Hockey5
Nationalcaps 34
Nationalgoals 30
Updated4 March 2025
Kayla Swarts
Repsevensyears 12025-present
Repsevensteam 1South Africa
Repsevenscomp 18 (5)
Ru sevensupdate9 March 2025

Kayla Swarts (born 24 May 2003)[2] is a South African field hockey and sevens player for the South African national team.

Career

Field hockey

Under–21

Swarts made her debut for the 2023 Junior Africa Cup in Ismailia[3] and 2023 Hockey Junior World Cup in Santiago.[4]

National team

Swarts made her debut for the FIH Nations Cup in Valencia.[5][6]

In 2024 she will become an Olympian, representing South Africa at the XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris.[7][8]

Rugby union

National sevens team

Between 2024, she represented the Springbok Women’s Sevens A team team in the Dubai 7s International tournaments.[9][10] The 2025 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series represented the Springbok Women’s Sevens team.[11]

Personal life

She was living with her mother and father, Odessa Swarts (née Krause)[12] and Steven Swarts, in Bloemfontein.[13] Her brother, Wayde van Niekerk also is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres.[14][15][16][17] She is the cousin of South African World Cup-winning rugby union and rugby sevens player Cheslin Kolbe.[18]

She attended Eunice High School.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Central girlies". 31 March 2024.
  2. ^ "FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup Spain 2022 - Teams". FIH
  3. ^ "South African Women's U21 team named for the African Qualifier". SA Hockey Association. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  4. ^ "SA Hockey U21 Women named for Junior World Cup". SA Hockey Association. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  5. ^ "Team Details – South Africa". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  6. ^ "SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN'S HOCKEY SQUADS HAVE BEEN SELECTED". sasportspress.co.za. SA Sports Press. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Team South Africa Hockey teams named for the Paris Olympic Games". sahockey.co.za. South African Hockey Association. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  8. ^ Lemke, Gary (19 June 2024). "Second group of Team SA athletes for Paris named" (in en-ZA). TeamSA. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  9. ^ "SA Sevens' future on display with 'A'-sides in Dubai". SA Rugby. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  10. ^ "Wayde van Niekerk's sister heads to Dubai Sevens". rugby365.com. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  11. ^ "Swarts, Willemse named in Bok Women Sevens squad for Challenger opener". SA Rugby. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  12. ^ du Plessis, Clement. "How Wayde's mom blazed the trail for her son". News24. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  13. ^ Wayde's Olympic glory: what his parents have to say Archived 24 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, IOL
  14. ^ Abrahams, Celine (2020-06-07). "gsport4girls - Kayla Swarts Running Her Own Race" (in en-ZA). gsport4girls. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  15. ^ Jager, Johann de. "Wayde se suster haal SA vrouehokkiespan" (in af-ZA). Netwerk24. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  16. ^ Piek, Morgan (2016-08-22). "Wayde's family arrives back in Bloem". Bloemfontein Courant. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  17. ^ de Villiers, Ockert (12 January 2024). "Wayde van Niekerk and sister set to share Olympic stage at Paris 2024". Olympics
  18. ^ Roberts, Cheryl. "Wayde van Niekerk and Cheslin Kolbe are both products of champion parents". Cape Argus
  19. ^ "Two Eunice ladies in SA U21 hockey team Congratulations to Kayla Swarts (2021) … – Eunice High School". Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.