Mckyla van der Westhuizen
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 11 March 2004 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Javelin throw | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best | Javelin: 60.87 (2026) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mckyla van der Westhuizen (born 11 March 2004) is a South African javelin thrower. She won a silver medal at the 2022 African Athletics Championships and won the 2026 NCAA Championships in the United States.[1]
Biography
From Guateng, van der Westhuixen later studied at Rice University in the United States where she studied sports medicine and exercise physiology.[2]
In August 2021, van der Westhuizen placed sixth overall in the javelin throw at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, with a best throw of 53.94 meters.[3]
Van der Westhuizen was a silver medalist in the javelin throw at the 2022 African Championships in Athletics in St. Pierre, Mauritius, throwing 55.55 metres to finish behind her compatriot Jo-Ané du Plessis, but ahead of compatriot Jana van Schalkwyk in a South African sweep of the medals.[4][5][6] Later that year she placed seventh overall in the javelin throw at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, with a best throw of 53.44 meters.[7]
Competing for Rice University, Van der Westhuizen was the 2024 AAC champion in the javelin and placed third at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships.[2] She placed seventh at 2025 NCAA Championships in June 2025.[8]
On 11 June 2026, Van der Westhuizen won the javelin final at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a personal best throw of 60.87 metres.[9] That year, she was provisionally selected for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[10]
References
- ↑ "Mckyla van der Westhuizen". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- 1 2 "Charlotte's Felts, Rice's Van der Westhuizen Earn Academic All-America Nods". The American. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 18 Aug 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ "Jo-Ane van Dyk leads SA to javelin clean sweep at African championships". Dispatchlive.co.za. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ↑ "NWU javelin star takes African crown in Mauritius". Citizen. 11 June 2022.
- ↑ "African Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 4 Aug 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ "American Athletes Wrap Up 2025 NCAA Track & Field Championship; South Florida Captures Men's 4x400 National Title". The American. June 14, 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ "MCKYLA VAN DER WESTHUIZEN CHAMPION WOMEN'S JAVELIN THROW - NCAA D1 OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026". Dyestat. 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ↑ "ASA names squad for Commonwealth Games 2026". The South African. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.