The South African Swimming Team continued to dominate on the second day of the XII CANA African Swimming Championships
Cameron van der Burgh did not disappoint the Free State Province crowd, winning the 50m breaststroke in a new Championship Record time of 28.05, breaking the 2008 record of 28.38, held by Senegal’s Malick Fall.
SA’s Michael Houlie scooped the silver in 28.63 and Egypt’s Ahmed Shamlool the bronze in 28.92.
Olympian Chad le Clos sprinted to a thrilling finish in the 100m butterfly, clocking a golden 52.69, just missing the Championship Record of 52.49, while Egypt’s Mohamed Samy and SA’s Alard Basson were close behind in 54.91 and 55.05, respectively.
Caitlin Kat and Rebecca Meder were the gold and silver duo in the 200m freestyle, finishing the final in 2:06.06 and 2:06.17, with Algeria’s Souad Nefissa Cheroua claiming the bronze in 2:07.51.
In the 400m individual medley, Mzansi’s elite took both the gold and bronze medals with Ayrton Sweeney finishing first in 4:27.80 and Neil Fair third in 4:31.41, while Egypt’s Ahmed Hamdy walked away with the silver in 4:30.22.
Up-and-coming swim stars Kaylene Corbett (17) and Hanim Abrahams (14) bagged the gold and silver in the 200m breaststroke in 2:33.09 and 2:36.57, respectively, while Egypt’s Rowaida Hesham took the bronze in 2:41.71.
The phenomenal performances continued as Nathania van Niekerk and Lesley Blignaut came first and second in the 50m butterfly in 28.15 and 29.23, respectively, with Egypt’s Mariam Sakr third in 29.42.
The title of the 800m freestyle went to Egypt’s Marwan Elamrawy in 8:13.07, with SA’s Brent Szurdoki a close second in 8:14.75 and Josh Dannhauser third in 8:18.57
The final race of the evening saw Calvyn Justus, Gabi Grobler, Samantha Labuschagne and Myles Brown take the gold medal in the 4 x 100m freestyle mixed relay in 3:37.02, ahead of Egypt in 3:43.01 and Algeria in 3:43.32.
The day 03 heats will start at 10h00, while the finals will begin at 16h00 daily.
Medal rankings (after day 02):
|
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
South Africa |
11 |
8 |
5 |
24 |
|
Egypt |
2 |
5 |
6 |
13 |
|
Algeria |
1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
|
Seychelles |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Morocco |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
For photos from the XII CANA African Swimming Championships – Day 02, please visit - http://www.superimage.co.za/detail.aspx?i=1646
Swimming South Africa is the governing body of aquatics in South Africa.
Its objective is to encourage the practice of aquatic disciplines for all in South Africa with the purpose of promoting swimming as a life skill through Learn To Swim programmes; providing healthy exercise to South Africans of all ages and races; recruiting recreational swimmers to compete in the various competitions; and promoting competition and athlete development to the highest level. Swimming South Africa is kindly supported by SASCOC, National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Arena, Sport & Recreation SA and Rand Water.