<\/p>\n\n\n\n
12 April 2022 \u2013 Olympic star Tatjana Schoenmaker ensured she was not to be outdone again in the 100m breaststroke, regaining her national title on the opening night of the SA National Aquatic Championships in Gqeberha on Wednesday ahead of teen rival and Commonwealth Games champion Lara van Niekerk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a massive sigh of relief for the Olympic silver medallist in the event as she claimed the title in a time of 1:05.89 \u2013 not that she had beaten her young opponent who claimed the title last year \u2013 but that she had once again dipped under the 1 minute 6 second mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schoenmaker\u2019s victory came in 1:05.89 to equal the second fastest time in the world this year with Van Niekerk second in 1:06.74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was never about the title. If I came second or last \u2013 for me it was about those personal goals that I set for myself,\u201d said a thrilled Schoenmaker afterwards. \u201cIt is challenging to come back from a 1:04.8 [at the Olympics in Tokyo] and then never breaking a 1:06 so it was really tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen it in training and my times have been looking great but it just didn\u2019t link with my racing so I\u2019m grateful to dip under that and see that my times in training are actually showing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking about the great depth in South African women\u2019s breaststroke, Schoenmaker added: \u201cI think we have such an amazing breaststroke group\u2026 it\u2019s always nice to have world-class swimmers with you in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also all from NTS [Northern Gauteng] so there\u2019s never a competition where you\u2019re not stepping up against world-class swimmers. I think that\u2019s challenging on the mental side because you\u2019re not always feeling great but then it\u2019s such a good challenge to push yourself every time you swim.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like they had done in the morning heats, both Van Niekerk and Schoenmaker comfortably achieved A qualifying times for the Swimming World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July while third-place Kaylene Corbett\u2019s time of 1:08.57 was a B qualifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, another Pretoria star, Pieter Coetz\u00e9, provided the highlight in the men\u2019s programme, powering to a new national and continental record in the 100m backstroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 18-year-old\u2019s time of 52.78 beat the record 52.95 he swam in the semifinals on his way to silver at last year\u2019s World Championships in Peru, and also placed him second fastest in the world this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be honest, I didn\u2019t really have any expectations time-wise so I\u2019m shocked and very happy with that because it\u2019s still very early in the season,\u201d said Coetz\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good start to the season and it\u2019s getting me more riled up for the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coetz\u00e9 had already dipped well under the World Championship mark in the morning heats and said heading into the final: \u201cI was very relaxed and just excited and really looking forward to getting in the pool so that definitely helped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the evening, Aimee Canny claimed another A qualifying time in the 200m freestyle after doing so in the morning heats. She swam to victory in a time of 1:57.82, in a race where the top four swimmers all dipped under two minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dun\u00e9 Coetzee was second in 1:59.05 and Erin Gallagher third in 1:59.50 (both B qualifying times).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt really good this morning. I kind of took all the pressure off myself and I knew I had to do it again tonight. I knew I could do it \u2013 especially how easy it felt,\u201d said Canny after her final. \u201cI definitely went out harder tonight. I felt it at the end but I didn\u2019t die as hard as I probably could have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking about the difference that training at the University of Virginia in the USA has made, Canny added: \u201cIt\u2019s crazy, training with the level of competition there is insane and I absolutely love it. It\u2019s a great training environment and when I come back it gives me so much confidence to race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several disabled swimmers also achieved qualifying times for the Para Swimming World Championships which take place in Manchester, England from 31 July \u2013 6 August. Amkele Qamarana swam an A qualifier in the SB15 50m breaststroke, powering to a personal best time of 34.47 in the evening final. Kat Swanepoel achieved her A qualifier in the SB3 50m breaststroke with a time of 58.54 in the heats while Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Christian Sadie swam 1:14.24 to qualify in the S7 100m backstroke. Nathan Hendrick completed the haul of A qualifiers by swimming a time of 1:03.32 in the S13 100m backstroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SA National Aquatic Championship action continues in Gqeberha on Thursday and runs until Sunday, 16 April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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