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A total of seven swimmers secured their places in the national team for the global championships.
Versatile swimmer Pieter Coetze in action at the SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha. Picture: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
Having shone as the standout performer at the SA Swimming Championships, raking in five gold medals, Pieter Coetze says he is looking forward to the international season as he aims to go quicker in the build-up to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July.
At the five-day national championships which came to a close in Gqeberha on Sunday, Coetze achieved the A-standard qualifying times for the global showpiece in four events – the 50m backstroke (24.56), 100m freestyle (48.63), 100m backstroke (52.71) and 200m backstroke (1:56.07).
Though he didn’t meet the required standard in the 50m freestyle, he also won the SA title in that event, closing out a successful week for the 20-year-old star.
“I think I’m in a very good spot for this time of the year because I also don’t want to peak now,” Coetze said.
“I want to go overseas and perform there, so I think this is a very good base and things are looking good.”
In total, seven swimmers achieved A-standard qualifiers, booking their places in the national team for the World Aquatics Championships.
Matthew Sates, who also won five gold medals – in the 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley – dipped under the automatic qualifying standard in the 200m medley (1:58.83).
Rebecca Meder broke her own national record in the women’s 200m individual medley final, stopping the clock at 2:10.39, and she also qualified in the 200m breaststroke (2:23.61), as did Kaylene Corbett (2:24.70).
Other qualifiers included Erin Gallagher in the women’s 50m butterfly (25.93), as well as Michael Houlie (26.90) and Chris Smith (27.11) in the men’s 50m breaststroke.
Among other highlights at the SA Swimming Championships, Michaela de Villiers broke the SA record in the women’s 50m backstroke, winning the national title in 28.25.
Duné Coetzee missed out on the A-standard qualifiers in her events, but she did well to claim four SA titles in the 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 400m freestyle and 800m freestyle events.
Down Syndrome swimmer Minke Janse van Rensburg broke her own world record in the 50m butterfly, touching the wall in 36.59 to shatter the mark of 38.02 she set in Cape Town earlier this year.
Swimmers can still qualify for the World Championships, and Swimming South Africa says it will also consider including B qualifiers in the national team if there are not two A qualifiers in their events when the window closes on 29 June.
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