Chad le Clos continues his strong run through the South African nationals as he wraps up another national title and earns himself a second event in London. After winning the 400 IM on opening night and swimming an Olympic qualifying time in the 200 free (he decided to scratch finals but could still be used as a member of the 800 free relay) he took home his second win in the 200 fly. His time of 1:56.17 comes up short of the 1:55.30 he posted in the semifinals but none the less the time was good enough to meet the FINA A standard. Sebastien Rousseau finished second in 1:57.88 which falls nearly a second off the time he needed to qualify for London. He did finish second in the 200 free last night which should be good enough for a relay berth but he has yet to earn any individual swims this summer.
After posting the Olympic qualifying time in yesterday’s semifinals Kathryn Meaklim failed to add the medley double to her Olympic program as she finished off the 2:13.36 needed during the finals. As noted, South Africa Swimming is requiring its athletes to meet the OQT in the finals of the races here at nationals for a chance to swim them in London. They each must also achieve the standard a second time within the last 10 months. Meaklim’s final time of 2:13.64 leaves her short of her semi time but she will be heading to London after her win in the 400 IM on night one.
In the prelims of the 200 free it looked like Karin Prinsloo had a chance to earn a trip to the Olympics in the event after posting a solid 1:59.86. While that was still short of the mark needed she had two rounds to go to achieve the 1:58.33. Unfortunately she couldn’t get there as she touched in 1:59.53 in the finals. That still leaves her without a ticket to London as she couldn’t meet the standard in the 100 back on night three.
The men’s 100 free looks to be a tight race tomorrow evening but if the semifinals were any indication it looks like Gideon Louw is ready to make some noise in the finals and in London. The former Auburn star posted the only time under 49 seconds in the semis and with his 48.74 he gets under the OQT needed. He will need a repeat performance tomorrow evening to wrap up a trip to his second Olympics. Also looking to take an individual spot in the event in London is Darian Townsend (49.10) who just missed the FINA A mark in the 200 free. Graeme Moore (49.53) and Leith Shankland (49.55) are also in a strong position to take either an individual or relay spot. Olympic gold medalist Roland Schoeman (49.77) is looking for to make his third Olympic team as most recent NJCAA champ Bradley Tandy (50.22) is looking to translate his short course success to long course.
Mandy Loots topped the field in the semis of the 200 fly with a time of 2:13.05 which is still well off the FINA A mark of 2:08.95. In the men’s 200 breaststroke it was Neil Versfeld who led the way with a time of 2:12.35. That comes up still short of the standard needed of 2:11.74.