Van Renen, Meder, Le Clos Add Events To SC Worlds Lineups At South African 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
• Results

We saw day 3 of the 2024 South African Short Course Championships conclude last night from King’s Park.

18-year-old Chris Smith became the 6th South African swimmer to capture a 2024 Short Course World Championships-worthy time, taking the men’s 50m breast.

According to Swimming South Africa, Smith ripped his racing suit just before his main event, forcing a swift wardrobe change before he clocked a time of 26.68 for the victory.

The Centurion swimmer said about the unexpected incident post-race, “I think it warmed me up a little bit because I had to jog to the bathroom and come back.

“I was quite confident coming in because this morning my stroke rate was slow so I just picked it up tonight.

University of Georgia ace Ruard van Renen added a 4th event to his possible Budapest lineup as he soared to the wall first in the men’s 100m back.

The Bulldog put up a time of 50.97 to take the gold, although he posted an even quicker result of 50.64 in the morning heats.

“This morning I really pushed… doing it in the morning took the pressure off so I could come out here to just enjoy the race,” van Renen said after the final.

“I feel like the past few days I’ve surprised myself and other people too. Having all those races back to back definitely put some lactic acid in my legs… now I’m going to relax and eat way too much pasta,” added the mechanical engineering student.

Rebecca Meder was the top women’s 200m IM swimmer, with the 22-year-old notching a golden 2:08.78.

“I think I was hoping for at least a 2:07 but I can either be hard on myself or I can be satisfied and happy that I made the time,” Meder told Swimming South Africa.

“I always come out and critique everything, but it’s a solid time… and that’s all I really needed at this stage,” she added.

“Today was a tough day in the office for me mentally, I was quite tired today so I’m more proud of myself showing up to the battle every single time and being able to deliver.”

32-year-old Chad Le Clos raced in a 200m fly time trial where he secured another Budapest event with a qualifying time of 1:53.38. The veteran now has the 50m/100m/200m fly and 100m free as a potential Short Course World Championships agenda.