Wendy Trott Wins 800 Free at South African Championships

DURBAN, South Africa, April 12. THE 400 freestyle title already in her pocket, Wendy Trott added the 800 free championship Thursday at the South African National Championships. Trott was far from overwhelming, as she was well off her time from the World Championships, but her outing of 8:50.17 delivered an eight-second win over Kathryn Meaklim (8:58.23). Trott went 8:31.53 at the World Champs.

"I have been tapering for almost six weeks now so it was going to be difficult to get close to my record again," Trott said. "Melbourne was fantastic and it was amazing to swim next to Laure Manaudou of France in the final of the 800 freestyle at the World Championships. I was so happy to be in the final of this event in Melbourne as it is my favorite."

In the men's 200 freestyle, Riaan Schoeman earned the gold medal, complementing his earlier triumph in the 400 free. Schoeman was also the bronze medalist in the 200 backstroke. On the women's side, qualifying for the 200 free was led by Melissa Corfe in 2:01.80, a personal best. Meanwhile, Gerhard Zandberg topped qualifying in the 50 backstroke with a mark of 26.33. Last week, he won the world title in the one-lap backstroke.

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