2022 SOUTH AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (RSA)
- Wednesday, April 6th – Monday, April 11th
- Newton Park Swimming Pool, Gqeberha, South Africa
- LCM (50m)
- World Championships/Commonwealth Games Qualifier
- Psychs
- Live results on Meet Mobile: “SA National Aquatic SNR-JNR Champ 2022-PE”
- Livestream
We’re nearing the end of the 2022 South African Championships, with the meet representing the primary qualification opportunity for swimmers to nail roster spots for this summer’s World Championships.
Among the events tonight was the men’s 50m freestyle, with 30-year-old Olympian Brad Tandy passing the sprint torch to protegé, 17-year-old Pieter Coetze
Arriving in Gqeberha from the United States just this morning, Tandy earned a time of 22.49 to snag silver behind Coetze who touched in 22.34 for the win.
Coetze had already qualified for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games earlier in the meet with his 200m free relay leadoff of 22.15.
After the men’s 50m free, Tandy revealed his retirement from competitive swimming.
Look for a separate post commemorating the sprint star’s achievements.
As for Coetze, he revealed that Tandy told the teen, “He said: ‘Well done, it’s all yours now. You take it from here.So that was a great moment to share with him.
“To win it is great and obviously to race Brad was awesome, and very emotional to see him finishing. He’s one of the greatest guys in the world of swimming. He’s an amazing swimmer and I really got to know him in the village in Tokyo – he was like a mentor to the younger guys on the team, so it was great to experience the Olympics with him.”
Swimmers who have achieved qualification times for the Commonwealth Games and FINA World Championships so far:
Women
Aimee Canny (200m freestyle)
Emma Chelius (50m freestyle)
Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke)
Tatjana Schoenmaker (50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke)
Lara van Niekerk (50m and 100m breaststroke)
Men
Pieter Coetzé (50m and 100m backstroke, 50m freestyle)
Michael Houlie (50m breaststroke)
Chad le Clos (100m, 200m butterfly)
Matt Sates (200m freestyle)