Day 13 of the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea
Schoenmaker marched into her second final of the championships in style touching second in her race hitting the wall in a new South African and continental record of two minutes 21.79 seconds (2:21.79), chopping 0.23s off her previous mark. She made a strong statement after going toe-to-toe with defending champion Yuliya Efimova touching second behind the Russian.
"The race was so amazing, it is difficult to explain, it was nice and comfortable in the beginning, but I wasn't sure if the time was going to be good - I just tried to stay in my lane, and I am thrilled," Schoenmaker said.
Her training partner, Corbett put up a fight to earn her place in the final in fourth place with a new personal best of 2:24.18. “It is such an experience swimming here and to compete with the best is my favourite thing ever. This is what we work for. It was just an insane race. We are racing at such a high level, and it is just getting harder and harder. All I wanted was an evening swim, and I’ve been blessed with two (semi-final and final), so I couldn’t be any happier," Corbett said.
In the morning heats Erin Gallagher narrowly missed out on the semi-finals in the women’s 100m freestyle finishing 20th with a time of 54.64.
Christopher Reid also fell short of qualifying for the next round in the men’s 200m backstroke finishing 20th overall with a time of 1:58.44.
Meanwhile, the men’s water polo team bowed out of the championships equalling their best result placing 12th after losing to Japan 15-5 in their final match.
South Africa battled to pierce Japan’s defences with Jason Evezard scoring a brace with Nicholas Rodda, Mark Spencer and Donn Stewart each landing a shot in the back of the net. Head coach Paul Martin praised his charges for holding their own despite a lack of experience.
“In this team, we have only four players who have played a senior FINA event - Martin said. “At the last two World Championships, there were three players only. We lacked a little cohesion and trust because of no game time (before Gwangju). There are positives...if I can keep 11 to 13 guys together for the next two years, I will be very happy. I can’t fault their fitness or individual conditioning,” concluded Martin.
SA Swimming Team in Gwangju, Korea:
Men
Alaric Basson, Michael Houlie, Chad le Clos, Aryton Sweeney, Bradley Tandy, Christopher Reid, Eben Vorster.
Women
Emma Chelius, Kaylene Corbett, Dune Coetzee, Erin Gallagher Tayla Lovemore, Rebecca Meder, Tatjana Schoenmaker, Nathania van Niekerk, Mariella Venter.
ENDS
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