Rebecca Meder Breaks South African Record in the 200 IM to Close Shanghai World Cup

2024 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP-SHANGHAI

South African swimmer Rebecca Meder finished 3rd in the women’s 200 IM on Sunday to wrap up the 2024 Swimming World Cup’s first stop of the season in Shanghai, China, and in the process broke the South African Record in the 200 IM.

Her time of 2:07.42 shaved .05 seconds off her own record that was set at the 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships. Prior to that, the record was a 2:07.54 done by Katheryn Meaklim in the 2009 World Cup Series during the supersuit era.

Rebecca Meder Rebecca Meder
New S. African Record
Former S. American Record
Fly 27.16 27.30
Back 32.13 32.03
Breast 37.16 37.00
Free 30.97 31.14
Total Time 2:07.42 2:07.47

Meder, 22, has been on a tear in this event in long course. She first broke the 200 IM in a 50 meter pool in April 2013, swimming 2:11.39 at the South African Championships. She then lowered that to 2:10.95 at the World Championships and 2:10.67 in the semi-finals at the 2024 Olympic Games where she placed 11th. That is also the current South African Record in long course, which also previously belonged to Meaklim prior to 2023.

Meder doesn’t swim a ton of short course meters, but her long course progression indicated that she was due for some best times in this event in short course.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe still holds the African Record with a 2:06.13 done in 2008.

Meder now holds three individual South African Records (both 200 IMs, plus the 100 IM in short course meters), and shares seven further relay records.

Meder also finished 3rd in the 200 breast in Shanghai (2:20.35), and 6th in the 100 IM (59.19). In combination, that ranked her 11th in the World Cup Standings at the meet, earning her $4,900 in prize money.

0
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »