Erin Gallagher Lowers South African 100 Fly Record; Matt Sates, Chad Le Clos Tie

Erin Gallagher; Photo credits: SA Sports Images/Anton Geyser

Erin Gallagher Lowers South African 100 Fly Record; Matt Sates, Chad Le Clos Tie

Erin Gallagher lowered her South African record in the women’s 100 butterfly on Friday, while Matt Sates and Chad le Clos tied for the 100 fly title.

Gallagher ushered in a stirring night session on the fifth day of the SA National Championships. Her time of 57.32 seconds clipped .27 off the national and African record she set at the 2024 World Championships. Both are Olympic A cuts.

It’s Gallagher’s second national record of the week, to go with the 50 fly.

“When I finished the race I thought I’d be more tired but now I feel like I need to go again so that’s a good sign,” Gallagher told Swimming SA. “I think if this race was earlier in the gala I could have maybe done a little bit more, but this is where I’m at now and there are lessons to be learnt and rather swim slower and faster in Paris.”

Gallagher was one of three swimmers to book Olympic spots Friday, though the best race wasn’t included among that. Le Clos, celebrating his 32nd birthday, tied Sates to win the men’s 100 fly in 52.07. (Both have qualified for the Olympics via the last two World Championships.)

“All credit to Matt,” Le Clos said. “It was a nice one for the fans and a good way to end my birthday but there’s a lot of work to do. We’re a bit far off the pace at the moment but looking forward to the Olympics.”

The duo was a second clear of bronze medalist Jarden Eaton, in 53.19.

Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker) booked another Paris swim by going 1:05.48 to win the 100 breast and complete the double. That’s well under the A cut of 1:06.79. Smith had gotten it done in the morning by leading the field in 1:05.41.

Lara van Niekerk was just outside of the A cut in second in 1:07.16. That’s .04 shy of the consideration cut. Kaylene Corbett, who qualified in the 200 breast, was second in 1:07.83.

The third A cut came via Aimee Canny. The University of Virginia swimmer had won the 200 free in 1:57.39 for an Olympic B cut this week, but she sped up to 1:56.80 off the front of Western Cape Aquatics’ 800 free relay. That gets her the A cut and downs Karin Pinsloo’s national record of 1:57.17 from 2014.

“I had a good day to just process everything and then I was like, I’m ready, I want to go again,” Canny said. “I knew .1 is nothing, especially in a 200. I knew I was there.”

Christian Sadie went 2:38.45 to earn a Paris Paralympics qualification time in the men’s SM7 200 individual medley in prelims. Nathan Hendricks’ quickest time of 2:17.15 earned him a spot in the Paralympics in the SM13 200 IM.

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