PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, September 30. AFTER posting a strong preliminary time of 4:46.40, Jessica Pengelly, 16, came back during the evening session of the South African Short Course Championships to dispose of the South African record in the 400 IM.
Pengelly clocked a time of 4:37.41 to best the previous standard of 4:39.61 set by Mandy Loots on Nov. 21, 2004. Pengelly, however, still has some ground to make up on African record holder Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. Coventry owns that record with a time of 4:34.20 set on March 19, 2004.
Additionally, Demi Drakopoulos won the women's 1500 free in 17:01.99, while Loots claimed the 200 fly title in 2:10.15. In the men's 200 free, George Du Rand paced the field with a time of 1:48.58.
In other action, Lize-Mari Retief set the African standard in the 50 fly with a time of 26.56 during prelims, as reported here. Meanwhile, Gerhard Zandberg topped 50 breast semis with a time of 27.91, while Suzaan van Biljon did the same on the women's side with a 32.35. Garth Tune also led the semifinal round of the 50 back with a time of 25.60.