Connect with Us:
Wins For Schoeman, Le Clos; No World Cuts
Apr 18, 2013 - Craig Lord
The long wait for the pool to turn clear is over in Port Elizabeth but after two days of cancellation after a pipe burst and helped turn the water green at South African nationals the wait goes on to add names to the team, no finals producing swims inside official cuts.
Three days after leading the way in the 50m butterfly, and after treatment for an ear infection in between, Roland Schoeman scorched the butterfly dash in 23.11 for a world top 3 place so far this season. The dash events, beyond freestyle, are not slated as world-title qualification events, even though they are selection events for the Universiade at more modest speeds.
Olympic 200m butterfly champion Chad Le Clos took silver in 23.72 at the end of a session in which he took the 200m freestyle in 1:48.63, 0.21sec outside the cut for world titles. Leniency, if required for Le Clos's programme, may be shown under the circumstances as selectors consider their Barcelona 2013 world-title options at the weekend.
Le Clos had company all the way, taking the lead and holding on in the second part of the race, Myles Brown on 1:49.46 for silver, 17-year-olds Calvyn Justus and Chris Reid third and fourth in 17, third in 1:51.39 and 1:52.13 for potential relay action in Barcelona if leeway is found. Gerhard Zandberg, would need leniency too: the target 54.43, he took the 100m backstroke in 55.17 ahead of Darren Murray, on 55.84, no others inside 56.
Vanessa Mohr, 18, was a couple of seconds outside the world-title cut with a 1:00.82 victory in the 100m butterfly, Marne Erasmus, 17, on 1:00.99.
In the absence of Olympic champion Cameron Van der Burgh, away at the Bergen Swim Festival in honour of the late Alex Dale Oen and after a world-title qualifying 1:00.71 in the semis of a green pool on day 1, Jarred Crous, 16, took the 100m breaststroke timed final in 1:03.07.
Tara Nicholas, 17, clocked 1:09.99 to win the 100m breaststroke, the cut ahead of her on 1:08.63, while Trudi Maree took the 50m free in 26.09 for another victory taken outside the time required for Barcelona action.
More timed finals over the next two days will bring to an end a fretful and testing week for all concerned in Port Elizabeth.
Those inside qualification times for selection events
World Championships:
Cameron van der Burgh - 100m breaststroke (SF)
World University Games:
