The 2017 SA National Aquatic Championships in Durban successfully concluded on Saturday with a total of twenty-four Junior and eight Senior Fina World Championships qualifications, as well as four Deaf Olympics and seven World Para Swimming Championships qualifiers.  

Chad le Clos celebrated the confirmation of his third qualification time for Hungary in the 100m butterfly when he clocked a fast 51.29, followed by Ryan Coetzee (53.29) and Ralph Goveia (54.30), while Brad Tandy and Zane Waddell were all smiles in the 50m freestyle final, claiming the gold and silver in Fina World Championships qualification times of 21.97 and 22.41, respectively. Douglas Erasmus won the bronze in 22.63.  

Finishing over two seconds ahead of the pack, Brent Szurdoki scooped the gold in the 1500m freestyle with an Fina Word Championships Qualification time of 15:11.22 to the 15:12.79 requirement, while Jarryd Baxter and Chad Michau booked their place to the Junior competition in the USA in qualifying times of 15:36.22 and 15.58.81, respectively.  

Rebecca Meder’s outstanding performance in the 400m individual medley earned her the top spot in the event with a Fina Junior World Championships qualification time of 4:48.49, ahead of Samantha Randle in 4:55.12 and Kate Beavon in 4:57.63.  

The 200m breaststroke was a very rewarding race for five of Mzansi’s youth hopefuls when Daniel Swanepoel, Duncan Rudolph, Bailey Musgrave, Likith Prema and Michael Houlie all confirmed their Junior qualifications. Swanepoel won the race in 2:15.83 to Rudolph’s 2:18.09, Musgrave’s 2:18.26, Prema’s 2:19.41 and Houlie’s 2:19.63.  

In the ladies’ 200m breaststroke, Tatjana Schoenmaker was victorious in 2:26.20, while Kaylene Corbett, Christin Mundell and Hanim Abrahams all added the event to their list of Junior Qualifiers in 2:30.07, 2:31.46 and 2:33.98, respectively.  

In the 100m freestyle, Erin Gallagher scooped the gold in 56.28 ahead of Emma Chelius in 56.75 and Seychelles’ Felicity Passon in 56.90, while 14 year old Olivia Nel, who despite finishing fourth, added her name to the Fina Junior World Championships list by a mere 0.02 secs when she touched the wall in 58.06 to the 58.08 requirement.  

Gallagher was back in the water to receive the gold for the 50m butterfly, clocking a winning 27.35 to Chelius’ 27.90 and Kenya’s Emily Muteti in 28.40.  

Martin Bindell, Neil Fair and Ruan Ras made up the 200m backstroke medal podium in 1:59.69, 2:01.47 and 2:04.10, respectively, while 15 year old Luan Grobbelaar was more than happy with his silver medal in the 400m individual medley in a Fina Junior World Championships qualification time of 4:29.59 ahead of Ruan Breytenbach (4:35.39) and behind Ayrton Sweeney (4:20.41).  

In the multi-disability races, Cornell Loubser claimed the top position in the S14-15 200m individual medley in 2:40.86, with the S1-13 winner was Alani Ferreira in 2:52.03.  

In the men’s S14-15 medley event, Aaron Putz won the gold in 2:32.38, while Christian Sadie came first in the S1-13 category with a World Para Swimming Championships qualification time of 2:45.59.  

The staging of this event was made possible through the support provided by Swimming SA partners, Sport and Recreation South Africa, Sascoc, National Lotteries Commission, Arena and Rand Water.

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