Rene Warnes, who represented South Africa at the world championships in Barcelona last year, came closest in the 400 metres individual medley, with her time of 4 minutes 47.73 seconds (4:47.73) just over three seconds off the qualifying time of 4:44.53. Marlies Ross was second in 4:55.98 and Megan van Wyk third in 5:03.49.
The morning heats started with the 200m butterfly for women where Tarryn Els from Eastern Province posted the fastest time of 2:20.95, almost 11 seconds slower than Kathryn Meaklim’s South African record of 2:09.41 set at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The qualifying time for this event, 2:09.38, is faster than the South African and African record.
Vanessa Mohr, who won gold in the 50m butterfly (37.15) and silver in the 100m butterfly (59.90), came in second in 2:22.50. She was followed by Ianthe van der Westhuizen in 2:22.80.
Jarred Crous set the fastest time in the 200m breaststroke in 2:17.47, followed by Ayrton Sweeney in 2:18.68 and Brenden Crawford in 2:21.88. The times were way off the qualifying time of 2:12.78.
The evening heats on Saturday will include the 50m freestyle final, which will feature Roland Schoeman who has already qualified for the Commonwealth Games with a time of 22.04 in the heats and semi-final.
Myles Brown will also be in action in the 1500m freestyle, where he will also attempt to qualify for the July 23 to August 3 spectacle in Glasgow, Scotland, in his favourite event.
– Sapa
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