Kayla Swarts reacts to Olympic debut alongside brother Wayde van Niekerk

The 21-year-old, who is the younger sister to 400m world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk through the same mother, is settling in Paris with her teammates ahead of their opening Pool B fixtures against Australia.

Swarts says she’s trying to avoid being star-struck in Paris.

"It's been a surreal experience, being at my first Olympics, seeing the Village for the first time, being surrounded by athletes that you've looked up to your whole life," said Swarts.

"I think it's so cool that my dreams have finally become a reality, so it's been really amazing being here – and I'll be honest, with Rafael Nadal and [Carlos] Alcaraz, I wasn't able to, but we all jumped to get photos with them because its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"But, with the rest [of the athletes], I think you just have to ground yourself and know that you're here for a reason and we're all in a professional setup, so understanding you can't just go crazy for other athletes because we're all focused on what we're here for."

Swarts naturally discussed her relationship with Van Niekerk, who dropped from the 400m event to only feature in the 200m as well as the 4x400m relay at the Games. 

"My brother will only be arriving tomorrow, so I'm really excited for the moment he gets here and we get our picture at the rings – I think it's so special that I get to share this opportunity with my brother," she added.

"I'm really looking forward to making so much memories with him. He always just tells me to be present and take in every single moment because you don't want to look back and regret not having fun or doing certain things with your teammates.

"So he always tells me to just be grounded and be present in the moment, and he said, once he arrives he'll be my wingman, he'll show me the ropes, so I'm really excited for when he arrives."

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