Jean started as a marathon and sprint paddler but since moving to Australia his focus firmly shifted to sprint racing.
In 2016, he claimed gold in the K1 1000 metres at the Junior Canoe Marathon World Championships, becoming the first South African male to win a medal at this level.
Representing Australia, he partnered with Riley Fitzsimmons, Tom Green and Jackson Collins to win the K4 500 at the U23 World Championships.
He also won a silver medal in the K2 1000m at the Under 23 World Championships, together with Collins.
Jean made his first senior national team in 2019 and finished 10th in the K1 1000 at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.
In 2020, van der Westhuyzen and Green won the K2 1000 in the first Olympic selection event. The pair won in an impressive time of 3mins, 12.27sec which was 1.74sec ahead of London Olympic Champion Stewart and Rio Olympic medallist Lachlan Tame.