Douglas Erasmus

Douglas John Erasmus (born 4 April 1990) is a South African swimmer who qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Personal life Erasmus studied a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) degree in Business management and Honers degree in Marketing management at the University of Pretoria.

Swimming Erasmus is coached by Igor Omeltchenko in Pretoria. He competed at the 2013 Summer Universiade games held in Kazan, Russia, reaching the semifinals of the 50 metre freestyle. At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, he raced in the 50 metre freestyle, 100 metre freestyle, the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, and the 4 × 100 metre medley relay. He was eliminated in the heats of both individual events. In both relays, he was part of South African quartets that finished seventh. During the meet, he injured his shoulder, which resulted in him missing four months of competition. He advanced from the heats in both events but was eliminated in the semifinals, having placed seventh in the 50 metres race and eighth in the 100 metres. He represented South Africa at the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, winning gold medals in the 50 metre freestyle and the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay. He eventually finished third in the final behind Calvyn Justus and Myles Brown. In the 50 metre freestyle event, Erasmus finished his heat in 22.16 seconds, one-hundredth of a second faster than the Olympic qualification standard. He finished second in the final behind Brad Tandy in a time of 22.55 seconds but ahead of four-time Olympian Roland Schoeman.

In May 2016, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) named him as part of the South African team for the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he competed in the men's 50 metre freestyle event. He finished 29th in the heats with a time of 22.27 seconds and did not qualify for the semifinals.