{"id":11489,"date":"2025-09-28T12:31:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T10:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/?p=11489"},"modified":"2025-09-28T12:31:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T10:31:04","slug":"press-release-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/?p=11489","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thompson strikes twice more as Van Niekerk rediscovers form at short course champs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 September 2025 \u2013 Jessica Thompson added two more gold medals to her haul as Lara van Niekerk showed glimpses of her old self on day three of the Bombela Concession Company SA National (25m) Championships in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson has already collected three national titles at these championships and added two more on Saturday, in the 50m freestyle, which she won in 24.19 seconds, just five hundredths of a second off the national record, and the 100m backstroke in 58.34 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think in the 50, you don\u2019t have time to think \u2013 that\u2019s the beauty about the races. It\u2019s more just trusting in your training and you can\u2019t think about it \u2013 your body goes into autopilot,\u201d said the Johannesburg swimmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about racing national short course record holder Cailtin de Lange, who finished second in the freestyle in 24.65, Thompson added: \u201cCaitlin is such an incredible swimmer, especially in the sprint free event so swimming against her I knew I had to be on my best game, top form and it was really nice having her next to me so I could get that extra push.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, after a year of battling back from injury, illness and numerous disappointments, Van Niekerk looked to be in a much happier place as she added the 50m breaststroke title to the 100m gold she won on the opening day of competition. The 22-year-old took the win in a time of 30.04 seconds and while she was hoping for a sub-30-second time, she said afterwards: \u201cI can just take this as a positive. It\u2019s faster than I went at worlds last year, so it\u2019s baby steps. Rome wasn\u2019t built in a day, so we\u2019re getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the mental aspect, the double Commonwealth Games champion added: \u201cI\u2019ve just got back to why I started swimming in the beginning and I\u2019m really enjoying it again. I love going to training every day and at least I\u2019m enjoying racing again. There was a stage last year where I was scared of racing, so it\u2019s good. It means I\u2019m improving as a person and I\u2019m getting back there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Smith took the men\u2019s 50m backstroke title in 26.31 seconds, but said afterwards, he wasn\u2019t expecting too much more from himself in terms of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it was good, especially for this time of year. It\u2019s a bit more than half a second away from my personal best time, but overall I\u2019m happy,\u201d he said afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the absence of Chad le Clos, Tai Pearson finally got his hands on two gold medals on Saturday \u2013 in the 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley. He took the win in the 100m backstroke in 53.29 seconds and followed that up with the IM gold in 2:01.49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several second places to the returning Le Clos, Pearson admitted he was pleased to finally have topped the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been hard the past two days racing Chad in my events because I\u2019m a butterfly swimmer, and freestyle, so I came second in three events and he came first, so I\u2019m really happy with getting the double now,\u201d said the 18-year-old. \u201cIt was a tough one, so the legs are definitely hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dun\u00e9 Coetzee returned to winning ways in the 400m freestyle, winning in a time of 4 minutes 11.38 seconds. Having recently moved back to Pretoria after finishing her studies in the USA, the 23-year-old has been pleased with her progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve only been swimming with Rocco [Meiring] for about two months, so I\u2019m really happy with all my solid performances\u2026 This meet was just kind of to see where I\u2019m at and what we need to do in training, so I\u2019m very happy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The men\u2019s 400m freestyle title went to Matthew Caldwell, who won in 3:48.47.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keira van Heerden made a return to the podium, completing an individual medley double, adding to her 400m IM gold by holding off a fast-finishing Georgia Els to win the 200m event in 2:14.79.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there was a first-ever national title for Armand Landmann, who won the 50m freestyle in 22.09 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bombela Concession Company SA National (25m) Championships in Pietermaritzburg will come to an end on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– ENDS –<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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