{"id":8833,"date":"2023-04-10T11:29:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T09:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/?p=8833"},"modified":"2023-04-10T11:29:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T09:29:27","slug":"epic-comeback-on-the-cards-as-athletes-converge-on-gqeberha-for-sa-national-swimming-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/?p=8833","title":{"rendered":"Epic comeback on the cards as athletes converge on Gqeberha for SA National Swimming Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PRESS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 April 2022 \u2013 Three-time Olympic medallist Roland Schoeman\u2019s name is among those on the start lists for the SA National Championships in Gqeberha this week \u2013 the 42-year-old sprinter looking to take on the young guns at the 12-16 April meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schoeman has not competed at the national event since 2016, but has decided to give it another go in the 50 and 100m freestyle and the 50m butterfly. Also considered one of the veterans, but 11 years Schoeman\u2019s junior is Chad le Clos, who has been enjoying a recent resurgence of his own \u2013 claiming double gold at last year\u2019s World Short Course Championships in Melbourne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning 31 on the opening day of the competition, Le Clos is planning on swimming the 100 and 200m butterfly as well as the 100m freestyle, with an eye on qualifying for the World Swimming Championships later this year in Fukuoka, Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 100 free is a new event which I\u2019ve been working quite hard on recently but understanding that it\u2019s still a process,\u201d said Le Clos, who arrived in the country from his base in Germany last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be quite exciting. It\u2019s great that Roland\u2019s back, it\u2019s really amazing that he\u2019s still swimming at his age and I think he\u2019s going to be good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling good, really confident, definitely different to the last two years that I\u2019ve been swimming\u2026 Hopefully we have some good results. I\u2019m just happy to be here in a good head space, good body \u2013 and we\u2019ll see how we go,\u201d added the 2012 Olympic champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile the two teenagers who took last year\u2019s Commonwealth Games by storm and were recently named Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year at the SA Sports Awards, Lara van Niekerk and Pieter Coetz\u00e9, will also be competing in Gqeberha this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Niekerk made a splash in 2022 by beating Olympic gold and silver medallist Tatjana Schoenmaker in the 100m breaststroke at both the National Championships and the Commonwealth Games and will once again come up against her fellow Pretoria superstar in Gqeberha. Schoenmaker\u2019s main event is the 200m breaststroke, however, where her main rival will be training partner Kaylene Corbett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously being SA champion would be lovely, but I am focusing on my race strategy and just executing it to the best of my ability,\u201d said Van Niekerk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been very happy with my training and preparation. Swimming an Olympic qualifying time in Durban at the Grand Prix really showed me that I am on track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think my season last year has given me a lot of trust in my process and showed me that even if preparation is not perfect, I can still swim fast and race well,\u201d added the 19-year-old, who will be competing in the 50 and 100m breaststroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking on a busy programme of six events is Coetz\u00e9, who will be in action in the 50, 100 and 200m backstroke, 50 and 100 freestyle and the 50 butterfly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling good and excited to go and race,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the international success in the last year, I wouldn\u2019t say it feels different going into this year. I just think confidence definitely grew. I\u2019m feeling way more confident and excited going into this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m just hoping to swim PBs. That\u2019s always what I\u2019m hoping for,\u201d added the 18-year-old, who claimed Commonwealth Games gold, silver and bronze last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellow teenager Matt Sates will be focused mainly on the 200 and 400m freestyle and the 200 and 400m individual medley. Sates claimed gold and bronze at last year\u2019s World Short Course Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery year of experience always helps you to feel more confident and know what you can get out your body,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing into this year I am much clearer on what works and doesn’t work for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s always great to win national titles, so of course I will be going for gold. But I really just want to put in some solid swims and times in preparation for the international season ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2018 Youth Olympic champion Michael Houlie is also hoping for a strong showing in Gqeberha in the 50 and 100m breaststroke after wrapping up his collegiate career with the University of Tennessee in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just had my last meet at the NCAA Championships and that went really well for the team and for me individually. I got a top-eight finish, so I\u2019m really just trying to carry all the positives from that meet to this competition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a year since I\u2019ve been home so I\u2019m just feeling excited and really happy and blessed. I feel grateful that I get to compete on home soil again and see my family so this is the energy and the mindset I have going into this next meet\u2026 the plan is what it always is \u2013 to swim fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swimming action at the Newton Park Swimming Pool in Gqeberha will get under way with the heats on Wednesday morning and will run until Sunday, 16 April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE 10 April 2022 \u2013 Three-time Olympic medallist Roland Schoeman\u2019s name is among those on the start lists for the SA National Championships in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8834,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8833\/revisions\/8834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kznaquatics.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}