Africa Recap: Le Clos, Coventry, and Tandy Qualify for Finals

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Swimming: August 6-13
• Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
• Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
• SwimSwam previews 
• Day 1 Schedule & Results
• Live Stream (NBC)

Africa had a huge push tonight, with all of their pistols firing in the semifinals.

Three swimmers, two from South Africa and one from Zimbabwe, swam well enough in the semis to secure their spots in the finals of their respective events tomorrow.

First was Brad Tandy, not necessarily a favorite to make it to an Olympic final. In the 50 free semifinals, though, he skated into the final by the skin of his teeth. Tandy will continue a tradition of South African sprinting left behind by the likes of Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling, and his 21.80 from semis gives him the 8th spot in the 50 free final.

Meanwhile, two more seasoned veterans made their way to finals tonight. Kirsty Coventry, of Zimbabwe, on her fifth Olympic journey, earned herself one more swim at these Games. In the 200 back semifinals, she swam a strong 2:08.83 to post the 6th-best time in semis to make it to another Olympic final.

Finally, Chad Le Clos, who has skipped out on the medley relay to focus on the 100 fly, swam the 2nd fastest time in semifinals of that event. His time of 51.43 was behind top seed Joseph Schooling‘s 50.83, and plenty of 51-mids follow Le Clos.

This was a big night for Africa, who will now have three swimmers vying for medals tomorrow night.

NATIONAL RECORDS

• Ali Khalafalla – Egypt – 50 free
• Hilal Hemed Hilal – Tanzania – 50 free
• Talita Marie Te Flan – Ivory Coast – 800 free
• Ralph Goveia Assafrao – Zambia – 100 fly
• Anthony Ralefy – Madagascar – 100 fly
• Oumar Toure – Mali – 100 fly

AFRICA MEDAL TABLE

Country
	1 South Africa		0		2		0		2