eBusiness Weekly
Places in the teams to represent South Africa at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games will be on the line as the country’s best swimmers head to Gqeberha for the SA National Swimming Championships from Wednesday.
Action at the Newton Park Swimming pool will get underway on 6 April-11 April.
Leading the charge will be world record-holder Tatjana Schoenmaker, who claimed gold and silver at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
“I’m very excited. It’s been a bit tougher than other years, just in the sense of getting back into things since everything has changed,” said Schoenmaker.
“There are a lot of new responsibilities that came along the past eight months. But it’s been very exciting and I’m always up for the challenge.”
Schoenmaker isn’t expecting to be in the same national record-breaking form, she’s just relishing the chance to race alongside what’s fast becoming a world-class field of South African breaststrokers.
“I had never swum a PB at Nationals before — last year was the first time ever so I think that’s why you saw the shock on my face. Going into this Nationals, there’s no expectation. I’m just focusing on my races,” said Schoenmaker.
“There are some fast girls, especially in the breaststroke. Kaylene [Corbett] and Lara [van Niekerk] are doing so well so I’m excited to see how they race. Not necessarily trying to beat each other. I think it’s just supporting each other to get into that team and then prove ourselves internationally.”
Also lining up in Gqeberha will be four-time Olympic medallist Chad le Clos, who is battling his way back from illness — having spent time in hospital earlier in the year with bronchitis.
“It’s been a great year of training. I’m managed to gather a group of youngsters to train with me in South Africa – mainly based out of Cape Town,” said Le Clos, who has been entered in the 100 and 200m freestyle, and the 50, 100, and 200m butterfly.
“I’ve swum a couple of local competitions before Nationals, but I’m on my fourth round of antibiotics.
I have chronic sinusitis and I have to have surgery to get that fixed, so we’re hoping to get that done – hopefully after Commonwealths… It’s been really bad, but other than that the training has been going excellently, really well.”
Le Clos has set his sights on becoming the most decorated athlete of all time at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’ll hopefully, qualify for a couple of races and then my goal is to become the most successful Commonwealth Games athlete in history come July.”
With 17 medals from three Games already in the bag, Le Clos will need to win two more medals to surpass Australian shooter Phillip Adams, who currently holds the record.
“That’s a big goal of mine. I’m focusing very heavily on that. We’ve got the world champs before, which will obviously be very important, but the Commonwealths are definitely my main focus for this year.
“Hopefully, we can get a couple of relays through and pick up a few medals there, but I’m hoping to smash that record come July.” Meanwhile, also looking to make a splash once again this year is rising star Matt Sates, who has returned to South Africa for the National Championships from the USA, where he set the college circuit ablaze for the University of Georgia.
Having represented the country at the Olympics last year, Sates will be gunning for the first appearance at both the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
“My experience in the US since January has been one that I am so happy to add to my list of blessings that have come my way with my swimming career. I was so kindly welcomed and part of the Bulldogs as soon as I arrived,” he said.
Sates made a name for himself internationally in the short course pool in 2021 after securing the overall World Cup title.
In Gqeberha, the 18-year-old has been entered into the 50, 100, and 200m butterfly, the 50, 100, 200, and 400m freestyle, and the 200 and 400m individual medley.
“Nationals in 2021 was an incredibly stressful time for me as I was needing to qualify for the Olympics and the pressure was intense. I think in the last year, I have matured, and racing the World Cups last year took the stress of galas to the next level,” said Sates.
“I go into the competitions now, taking what I learned last year to hopefully keep on getting better and learning how to deal with all the different pressures that come with it.
I enjoy Nationals as it is a time for all the SA swimmers to be together. -News24
