Gerhard Zandberg
Head coach. Three-time Olympian for South Africa and 2007 world champion in the 50 m backstroke.
A decade at the top, spent on this pool deck
Gerhard raced internationally for over ten years, including three Olympic Games.
His best-known swim is the 50 m backstroke gold at the 2007 FINA World Championships — a race decided in under 25 seconds, which tells you something about the level of precision he was operating at. Sprint backstroke rewards swimmers who get every detail right: the start, the underwater, the stroke rate, the finish.
That is the detail he now works through with Vikings swimmers, at whatever level they are at. A seven-year-old learning to breathe on both sides is getting the same attention to technique as an elite swimmer trimming a tenth off a turn.
He is direct about what needs fixing and generous with encouragement when it is earned, which is a combination swimmers tend to respond to. Parents will tell you their children come out of a session tired and wanting to come back.
The moment, 2007
This is the finish that the rest of his coaching is built on — the 50 m backstroke final at the FINA World Championships, gold decided by hundredths of a second. It is the kind of margin that only rewards swimmers who have already removed every avoidable mistake from their stroke, their start and their turn.
Gerhard Zandberg, moments after touching first.
Career highlights
- 2007
World champion, 50 m backstroke
FINA World Championships gold — the standout result of his international career.
- 3×
Olympic Games
Represented South Africa at three Olympic Games across a decade of international competition.
- 10+
Years on the international circuit
World Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Cup racing at sprint level.
- Now
Head coach, Vikings Race Club
Coaching all six squads at the Dickenson Avenue pool, plus training camps abroad.
Beyond the home pool
Vikings swimmers travel. Training camps have taken the squad as far as Zambia — putting swimmers in unfamiliar water against unfamiliar competition, which is usually where the biggest jumps happen.
Come and swim a session before you commit
Bring a costume, cap and goggles. Gerhard will watch a few lengths and tell you honestly which group fits.