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Undaunted: The Henju Duvenhage Story


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Henju Duvenhage has never been one to shy away from a challenge.

 

When the Cape Town, South Africa native arrived in Oxford, Ohio to begin his swimming career in 2020, he had several to navigate simultaneously.

 

Getting comfortable in a new school and new culture more than 8,000 miles from home.

 

Figuring out how to balance being a Division I student athlete while majoring in biomedical engineering.

 

And, in the pool, trying to help a Miami men’s swimming and diving team that had only won one conference championship in the past 14 years get back to the top of the MAC.

 

Check.Henju Duvenhage

 

Check.

 

And, check-check-check-check.

 

By the time Duvenhage finished his fourth season of eligibility in 2024, not only was his name all over the school record books, but the RedHawks had gone a perfect four-for-four in Mid-American Conference championships during his time with the program. 

 

“I remember talking to my roommates during freshman year and saying, ‘Listen, we could do something pretty amazing here,” Duvenhage recounted. “If we can go win all four years, that would set us apart!”

 

During that remarkable run, Duvenhage had done his part and then some, winning 10 individual MAC titles as well as six relay first-place medals to rank among the most accomplished swimmers in program history. He started strong, earning the conference’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Year as a freshman. He finished stronger, claiming Most Outstanding Senior honors in his fourth conference championship meet. And he took care of business in the classroom along the way, capturing multiple Academic All-MAC recognitions en route to being named Miami Athletics’ Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2023-24.

 

So the only question remaining is: If Duvenhage achieved basically everything he set his mind to in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024…why are you reading this story in 2025?

 

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First-year head coach Samantha Pitter was admittedly nervous.

 

When she took over the program in the summer of 2024, one of her first projects was trying to reach out and connect with each of the student-athletes she would be coaching during the upcoming academic year. And there was one giant question mark in her mind. Would Duvenhage use his fifth year of eligibility to come back to Oxford for one more season?

 

“Over the summer when I first got hired, he was in Canada and I just could NOT reach him,” Pitter recalled. “I was like, ‘If he does come back, this is going to be great. I don’t KNOW if he’s coming back. He was off the grid for a little bit…so it was a lot of waiting.

 

Henju Duvenhage“In mid-August I was able to get ahold of him, and he said, ‘Yeah! I’m really excited!’ [Talk about a] breath of relief!

 

“He’d already achieved a lot of his goals in the sport,” Pitter continued. “He had multiple MAC titles: four championships in a row. He went to the South African Olympic Trials where he went all best-times [swimming] long course last spring…it’s a really hard decision to come back, because you get to that point where you’re like, ‘I’ve had a really good run – I don’t know if I’m going to top that.’

 

“But the first thing he said to me on the phone was: ‘I want to help lead the team. I want to be there for the team. I want to help the team win again.'”

 

“I remember that call with Coach Sam, and it was an interesting time, because the last four years a lot of my friends have graduated,” Duvenhage said. “I knew it was going to be a daunting year to practice again and try to get another conference title…but she definitely set my mind at ease.

 

“I was excited for some new challenges that were going to lie ahead.”

 

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Fast forward to the present, and the 23-year-old Duvenhage —despite admittedly ‘feeling a bit older’ after battling through shoulder, back and neck injuries— is making the most of each remaining day he has this semester in his fifth and final chapter as a student-athlete.

 

“I know it’s coming closer to being done,” he reflected recently. “So it’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling that goes into that, but I’m still going to give it my all…

 

“I’m still training hard. I know I can still contribute. I know for the team that there’s still more that I can give…Henju Duvenhage

 

“It’s good looking back at it and seeing how I’ve grown from my freshman year, and how [each] challenge was necessary to shape me into the person that I am today…when you’ve accomplished those things, or gone through it? It’s a good feeling.”

 

Duvenhage will complete his Bachelor’s degree this May and took advantage of the fifth year of ‘COVID eligibility’ to spread out some classes, as well as undertake a handful of elective courses in other fields that interested him, such as cybersecurity, economics and marketing. He hopes to go on to obtain a Master’s degree near family in Canada and then pursue a career in medical device design.

 

“Being a college athlete and having to balance your sport, academics, physical therapy, getting your nutrition in and everything like that: It’s daunting at first,” Duvenhage admitted. “Luckily, there are people around you that can help, and there are a lot of resources you can utilize…

 

“The amount of hours that goes into the sport, knowing that at the end of the year, you might drop a few hundredths or tenths of a second, or if you’re really lucky, seconds down: It’s a challenge.

 

“But that’s why we do it. That’s why we love it.”

 

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With Senior Day on tap this weekend and only a few meets remaining afterward, Duvenhage is looking forward to seeing what else he and the RedHawks can accomplish over the final two months of his collegiate career. (Not that it’s easy to keep smashing records over and over again, especially for someone who already owns nine of the top 10 times in the school record book in his favorite event, the 200 IM!)

 

In fact, if there’s anything else left for Duvenhage to cross off his list as he approaches the finish line of his time in Oxford, it’s breaking through to qualify for an individual appearance at the NCAA Championships this March. Duvenhage, who has already produced a handful of ‘B cut’ times over his career, has a legitimate chance to become the first Miami men’s swimmer to advance to NCAAs since Paul Ricard in 2007.

 

“That’s been a goal over the past couple of years, I think for any swimmer really,” said Duvenhage. “Competing at that level is always such an achievement. Here in the United States, there are so many talented athletes, and it’s so competitive…

 

Henju Duvenhage“It would be fantastic to be able to go, but if it doesn’t happen, I know I’ve achieved many things being here. Honestly, it would just be the cherry on top.”

 

Whether his NCAA dreams come to fruition or not, Duvenhage’s main focus down the stretch is on the ‘drive for five’, as he and fellow fifth-year senior Adrian Dulay have a chance to help Miami win an unprecedented fifth straight conference crown when the Red and White host the Missouri Valley Conference championships Feb. 19-22 at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.

 

“We’ve won titles, and I’ve won individual titles as well, but there’s still more to be won!”, Duvenhage smiled.

 

“My goal is we become a dynasty,” Pitter said. “To get to a point where it’s not even a question of if we will win anymore; it shifts more towards how many people we can qualify for NCAA Championships.

 

 “The reality is: It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take time to build to that level.”

 

But Henju Duvenhage has never been one to shy away from a challenge.

 

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

 

Henju Duvenhage and the RedHawks will celebrate Senior Day this Saturday, Jan. 25 before a 1 p.m. co-ed home meet against Xavier. Admission is free! Next month, the Miami men will chase a fifth consecutive conference championship (and its first in the Missouri Valley Conference) at the MVC Championships in Oxford Feb. 19-22; ticket information for that meet will be available soon.

 

 

 



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