SA swim star Sates quits American university to turn professional

Newly crowned NCAA champion Matthew Sates is quitting university in the US to return home to Pietermaritzburg to focus on his swimming career as a professional.

Agent Lee-Roy Newton said in a statement on Thursday he had signed the 18-year-old swimmer, who owns three world junior records in the short-course pool — in the 200m individual medley and the 200m and 400m freestyle.

Sates, the overall winner of the World Cup series last year, moved to the University of Georgia early in 2022 and won the 500-yard freestyle at the highly competitive collegiate championships last month before returning for the national championships in Gqeberha.

He won four SA titles, including the blue riband 100m freestyle.

But the 18-year-old decided to head back to home waters in Pietermaritzburg, where he will reconnect with long-time mentor Wayde Riddin, a former SA head coach from 1999 and 2000.

College rules prevent athletes from earning money from sport.

Riddin underwent back surgery early in the year and, with him out of action, it is understood Sates went to the US to try out the college scene, which he didn’t find entirely to his suiting.

“I love swimming and for as long as I can remember I dreamed of competing on the world’s biggest stage as a professional,” Sates said in the Newton Agency statement.

“It takes an expert team around you though to make this happen, so I am excited to join Newton Agency as I take this next step in my career,” he added, thanking Riddin and his Seals club, where he started swimming a decade ago.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without them. I also want to thank everyone at the University of Georgia ... as well as my teammates, for giving me the confidence to take this step.”

The American collegiate system has produced several of SA’s swimming stars in the past, like breaststroke queen Penny Heyns and freestyle kings Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling and Lyndon Ferns, all members of the victorious 4x100m freestyle relay team at Athens 2004.

The fourth member, Darian Townsend, had been coached by Riddin for much of his career beforehand.

But since then, not a single of SA’s Olympic 20 medals from 2008 to 2020 has come from a US student in any sport. The closest was track sprinter Anaso Jobodwana, who won the 200m bronze at the 2015 world championships, but injury scuppered his medal chances at the 2016 Rio Games.

Sates’ successes in the past six months or so have all come in short-course competition, but this year he has two chances to show his abilities in the Olympic-sized pool, at the world championships in Budapest in June and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham from June 28 to August 8.

Sates is widely being tipped as a future superstar, including by Chad le Clos, SA’s most decorated Olympian with four medals.  

“Seeing [Matthew’s] level of determination, commitment and love of competing makes us really excited about his future and we look forward to the journey ahead to Paris 2024 and beyond with Matt,” said Newton.

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