South African Long Course Championships: Roland Schoeman, Cameron van der Burgh Victorious; Fast Men’s 100 Free Final Field Set

DURBAN, South Africa, April 14. SEVERAL top South African swimmers posted impressive times on the third day of long course competition at the country's national championships.

Men's 200 back final
Charles Van Zyl teased the two-minute barrier with a winning time of 2:00.24. Chris van der Sande was a distant second in 2:06.02, with John Ellis just behind in 2:06.58.

Women's 100 free final
Karin Prinsloo took the sprint event in 56.28, well ahead of second-place finisher Kayla Ferreira, who touched in 57.94. Rounding out the podium was Jo-Mari Van Zyl's 57.94.

Men's 100 free semifinals
Graeme Moore and Gideon Louw, both top performers at last month's NCAA championships, lead qualifiers into the final with times of 49.55 and 49.83, respectively. Darian Townsend is the third qualifier with a 50.02. Notably, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Roland Schoeman was fourth in 50.41.

Women's 100 fly semifinals
Vanessa Mohr posted the top semifinal time with a 1:02.07. Mandy Loots and Bianca Meyer were also under 1:03, with times of 1:02.81 and 1:02.84, respectively.

Women's 200 breast final
Ronwyn Roper, Jean Neethling and Jessica Pengelly raced up and down the pool for more than two and a half minutes going almost stroke for stroke. But Roper pulled away in the final meters to win in 2:33.77. Neethling finished in 2:34.31, with Pengelly just a stroke behind in 2:34.78.

Men's 50 fly final
Shortly after securing a place in the 100 free final, Schoeman returned to the pool to win the 50 fly in 23.69. His 23.58 from the semifinals stands as the fastest time at the meet. Garth Tune was second in 24.03 and Neil Watson took third in 24.22.

Women's 100 back final
Chanel Van Wyck led from start to finish, winning with a 1:02.46. Mandy Loots, in her second swim of the night, was the runner-up with a 1:03.22. Karin Prinsloo rounded out the top three with a 1:03.52.

Men's 100 breast final
Cameron van der Burgh couldn't put together another sub-one minute swim, as he touched in 1:01.53 in the final. The 50 breast world champion swam a 1:00.96 in the semifinals. Neil Versfeld was second in 1:02.12, while William Diering was third in 1:03.58.

Women's 800 free relay timed final
The Northern Tigers team of Leone Vorster, Kayla Ferreira, Karlien Van Heerden and Natasha de Vos won the event in 8:23.41, four seconds ahead of Western Province Aquatics.

Men's 800 free relay timed final
Western Province Aquatics won the event with a 7:32.64, with Heerden Herman, Marnitz DuPlessis, Abdul-Malick Railoun and Sebastien Rousseau on the squad. Northern Kwazulu Natal finished second in 7:36.97. Notably, Jean Basson, the champion in the 200 free on Tuesday, led off the Central Gauteng Aquatics team with a 1:48.60, just off the 1:48.48 he posted in the individual event.

Multi-disability events
Charles Bouwer was listed first in the men's 100 free with a 56.11. Natalie du Toit won the women's 100 free in 1:03.33. Challis Wright and Tia DuPlessis were both listed first in the men's 50 backstroke, with Wright's time listed as 32.50 and DuPlessis finishing in 35.54. Shireen Shapiro and Yvonne Smith were both listed first in the women's 50 backstroke. Shapiro's time was 34.63, while Smith finished in 42.18.

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