Le Clos Putting World On Notice With 1:46.8 200 Freestyle In Durban

2017 SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

The South African stars were on full display on day 3 of their National Aquatic Championships, as 2016 Olympians Chad Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh each collected another World Championships qualifying mark on the night. First up was Le Clos, who blasted a 200m freestyle final time of 1:46.84 to sail past domestic rival Myles Brown to take the gold in Durban. He had notched a FINA A cut during last night’s semi-final with his 1:47.73, but the 24-year-old Olympic silver medalist in the event lowered his mark to check in as the 2nd fastest swimmer in the world in the event thus far this season. Splits for Le Clos were 24.28/26.62 (50.90)/27.91/28.03 (55.94)

2016-2017 LCM Men 200 FREE

SunCHN
YANG
07/25
1.44.39
2Townley
HAAS
USA1.45.0306/28
3Duncan
SCOTT
GBR1.45.1607/24
3Tae Hwan
PARK
KOR1.45.1611/17
5James
GUY
GBR1.45.1807/24
View Top 26»

Teammate Myles Brown clocked a solid time as well, finishing behind Le Clos in 1:47.55. That was just .04 off his semi-final outing from last night, but still well comfortably under the FINA A qualifying time of 1:47.73. Brown now ties New Zealand’s Matthew Stanley as the 7th fastest time in the world this season.

The pair doubled up on swims tonight, also tackling the 200m butterfly where they finished 1-2 in the semi-final. Both did what it took to notch places in the final, with Le Clos nabbing a time of 2:00.88 while Brown sits just behind in 2:02.19. Look for both men, especially Le Clos who won gold in this event at the 2012 Olympic Games, to fire off something special tomorrow night in the final.

Breaststroking ace Cameron van der Burgh was at it again tonight after his impressive 59.73 100m breaststroke win in last night’s final. Tonight in the semi of the 50m sprint breast, van der Burgh nailed a FINA A cut of 27.06 to take the top seed and edge close to his national record of 26.67 from 2009.

Tatjana Schoenmaker doubled up on swims tonight, racing in the women’s 50m breaststroke where she took the top seed in 31.68. Schoenmaker also took on the 100m breaststroke final, where she came in as the top seed with her time of 1:07.99 from last night. That mark sat just under half a second away from the FINA A cut, which sits at 1:07.58. However, the 19-year-old wasn’t able to replicate her sub-1:08 performance, instead stopping the clock at 1:08.36.

Schoenmaker will now need to depend on her 200m breaststroke event as her last chance to notch a spot on the South African World Championships roster. If accomplished, she would become the first South African woman to have qualified for an elite international meet in 3 years.

Additional Winners on Night 3:

  • Mariella Venter took the women’s 100m backstroke in 1:01.53, dropping .20 of a second from yesterday’s semi-final outing.
  • 14-year-old Rebecca Meder won the women’s 1500m freestyle in 16:49.77.
  • The men’s 100m backstroke saw Jacque Van Wyk score the win in 56.42.
  • Dune Coetzee, just 14 years of age, nailed the top seed in the women’s 200m freestyle semi-final, earning a mark of 2:03.69.

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luigi
7 years ago

Detti swam faster the same day leading out a 4×200 free relay at Nationals

IMs for days
7 years ago

I guess he likes the sprint and hold on strategy, I wonder if he will transfer this tatic into the 200 fly as well?

not tony the tiger
Reply to  IMs for days
7 years ago

he is gonna die hard if he does that in 2 fly lol

Uberfan
7 years ago

Can you really call Myles Brown a rival? Especially in a race Le Clos won silver in at Rio

Snarky
7 years ago

Seems like the only thing he put the world on notice about is a 28.0 last 50.

Billabong
Reply to  Snarky
7 years ago

He needs to work a bit harder. It’s no good claiming to have the fastest time in the world in 2017, a week before the Aussie trials, with a 1:46.8 under your belt. It betrays the idea that you wanted to lay down a marker, and when the boys from down under swim right past you, you start to look a bit feeble. C’mon Chad, step it up a gear.

About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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