South Africa’s Emma Chelius Retires At Conclusion Of SC Championships

2024 SOUTH AFRICAN SC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, September 26th – Sunday, September 29th
• King’s Park Swimming Pool, Durban, KZN, South Africa
• SCM (25m)
• Psych Sheet
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap
• Results

The 2024 South African Short Course Championships wrapped up over the weekend, so we’re now awaiting the release of the nation’s official roster for December’s Short Course World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

On the final day of competition, 22-year-old Rebecca Meder raced her way to a victory in the women’s 200m breast, dipping under the 2:20 threshold for the first time in her career.

Multi-faceted Meder stopped the clock at 2:19.77 to claim the win and become her nation’s 3rd-best performer all-time.

Only national record holder Tatjana Smith (2:18.02, 2020) and Suzaan Van Biljon (2:18.73, 2008) have been faster.

On her performance, Meder stated post-race, “Today I just wanted to see what I could do and try not to force the speed but just to let the speed carry through, and to finish on a 2:19 is incredible,” said a thrilled Meder afterward.

“The fact that the breaststroke is so strong, shows that I still need to work on my other three as the medley is my main event. But I’m really happy with the breaststroke and we’ll see where it takes me.”

Tuks swimmer Emma Chelius competed in the final race of her career as a member of her squad’s 4x50m medley relay.

The 28-year-old helped the squad earn gold in a new South African national record-setting outing of 1:50.95.

Chelius told Swimming South Africa, “I’ve gone through the whole spectrum of emotions in the last few days leading up to this so I think I’ve processed all the bittersweet heartache of leaving the sport so today I just felt excited

“The race went by in a blur and having my family here to support me was just the cherry on top.

“It made me feel excited for the next chapter knowing it will still involve swimming,” she added, pointing to a possible foray into broadcast media.

“My goal was always to be a good teammate and I think I can still do that even if I’m not swimming. It just feels like the perfect time to end… my husband [Troyden Prinsloo] is coaching so I’ll still be involved in swimming and I know that the teammates and friends that I’ve made will be lifelong friends so overall I’m very happy.”

Also on the final day of competition at King’s Park, 16-year-old Kris Mihaylov earned his 3rd title of the week, claiming gold in the men’s 1500m free. Mihaylov already topped the men’s 200m and 800m freestyle podiums at this competition,

In this grueling 1500m, Mihaylov punched a result of 14:57.56 to become the 7th-fastest South African ever.

Ryk Neethling, retired national record holder, said of Mihaylov, “I am delighted for Kris that he broke my last senior SA record from 2000.

“I’ve been a bit concerned at the lack of young talent coming through in the middle to longer distances but at 16, Kris is showing that he’s got a bright future ahead of him and for SA swimming.

“He’s being coached by the legendary Peter Williams and he can’t get better technical coaching and mentorship. I will be keeping a keen eye on him.

“My advice to him: dream big, work harder and stay humble.”

We will publish the official South African roster for December’s Short Course World Championships once available.