Two-time South African Olympian Matt Sates is reportedly seeking Australian citizenship in a move that could see him switch his sporting allegiance ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The revelation emerged during Tuesday’s preliminary session at the 2026 Australian Swimming Trials in Sydney, where broadcaster Mat Thompson disclosed that the South African swimmer is pursuing Australian citizenship with the intention of representing Australia internationally in the future.
Significant development
While details surrounding the process remain limited, the potential move would represent a significant development for one of South Africa’s most talented swimmers.
Sates, 22, has long been regarded as one of the sport’s brightest prospects.
However, despite enjoying considerable success in short-course competition, his long-course career has yet to produce the international results many predicted.
Sates represented South Africa at both the Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In Tokyo, he finished 32nd in the 100m butterfly and 14th in the 200m individual medley.
At the Paris Olympics, he placed 35th in the 100m butterfly, 20th in the 200m butterfly and 21st in the 200m individual medley.
Greater success in short-course pool
Sates has enjoyed far greater success in short-course swimming.
He is the South African record holder in the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley in short-course metres.
His crowning achievement came at the 2022 World Short Course Championships, where he won gold in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 400m individual medley.
Notably, all of those accomplishments came while he was still a teenager.
Coached by Wayne Riddin in South Africa, Sates also spent time competing in the United States at the University of Georgia.
During his collegiate career, he captured the 2022 NCAA title in the 500-yard freestyle.
One-year wait
The move to Australia appears aimed at revitalising his long-course career as he targets a place at the 2028 Olympic Games.
Under recently updated World Aquatics regulations, athletes are required to wait only one year after representing a country before becoming eligible to compete for another nation.
Sates last represented South Africa at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, meaning he could become eligible to represent Australia as early as late 2026, provided all citizenship and eligibility requirements are met.
While that timeline would rule him out of representing Australia at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, it could potentially make him available for future international competitions, including the Pan Pacific Championships.
Highly competitive
However, securing a place on Australia’s highly competitive national team will be far from straightforward.
His personal best of 1:57.43 in the 200m individual medley would narrowly fall inside Australia’s Priority 1 Nomination Time for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, while his 1:45.91 in the 200m freestyle could strengthen Australia’s relay depth in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
At the Australian Trials on Tuesday, Sates clocked 1:48.03 in the 200m freestyle heats, ranking 15th overall.
As an international visitor, he was not eligible to compete in the ‘A’ final, making his performances in the secondary finals a more accurate indication of his current form.
Should the citizenship process be completed successfully, Sates could become one of the highest-profile South African swimmers to switch allegiance in recent years as he looks to fulfil the immense promise that has marked his career since his teenage breakthrough.
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