Van der Westhuyzen partnered Thomas Green to win K2 1000 gold at Tokyo 2020. The duo teamed up again to win bronze in the K2 500 at Paris 2024. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, and inspired by Ken Wallace and Murray Steward, van der Westhuyzen moved to Australia in 2018 in pursuit of an Olympic medal. He has a Bachelor of Business from Bond University.