2025 SOUTH AFRICAN SENIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, April 9th – Sunday, April 13th
- Newton Park Swimming Pool, Gqeberha, South Africa
- LCM (50m)
- SwimSwam Preview
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet
- Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap
- Results
The penultimate night of racing unfolded at the 2025 South African Senior National Championships with additional swimmers qualifying for this summer’s World Championships.
In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Michael Houlie and Chris Smith both made the grade for Singapore.
Houlie successfully defended his national title, stopping the clock at 26.90 to clear the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 27.33.
Runner-up Smith accomplished the same feat, registering a mark of 27.11 to join Houlie in Singapore.
Houlie stated post-race, “I think coming into this afternoon, I was really excited, I backed myself as well and know that when it’s time to race, to have that big match temperament, I know I can deliver, so I’m just happy I got my hand to the wall first.”
Regarding his protege, 19-year-old Smith, Houlie stated, “He’s very young with a lot of potential and it’s just awesome to have another world-class breaststroker to push each other.
University of Pretoria’s Pieter Coetze also notched a Singapore-worthy time as he paved his way in the men’s 50m freestyle.
This morning, the 20-year-old punched a time of 22.05 to lead the field, beating his previous lifetime best of 22.18 from the 2023 edition of this competition.
Although he was slightly slower in the final, still securing gold in 22.45, Coetze’s earlier effort matched the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut of 22.05 needed for Singapore.
Coetze said of his racing, “I just wasn’t really feeling it this afternoon as well as I did this morning, because it’s all about your feel for the water in the 50, so I felt more smooth this morning.
“I think this morning I just had no expectations so it worked out well… I’m very inconsistent in this event, it’s kind of more fun for me, the 50 free, so after I got the time this morning, I was happy to get the win tonight.”
