Times Slow Down During Third Day of Swimming South Africa Trials

By Jason Marsteller

DURBAN, South Africa, December 15. AFTER an exciting first two days of competition that featured an African record by Wendy Trott on the first day and a pair of upsets on day two, swimmers encountered mid-meet lethargy at the KZN Provincial Swimming Championships and Swimming South Africa World Championships Trials.

Women's 50 Freestyle
Liezl Burger picked up the win with a 26.44 clocking in the sprint free. 17-year-old Chanelle Van Wyk placed second in 26.59, while Lize-Mari Retief took third in 26.67.

Men's 50 Freestyle
Roland Schoeman captured another title by touching in 22.74. Shaun Harris, the top prelim qualifier, took second in 22.92, just .03 seconds ahead of Lyndon Ferns' third-place 22.95.

"It was slow all around, but that happens sometimes," Schoeman said. "I decided to take a day of rest and withdraw from the 100 butterfly. I hope the 100 freestyle will be a good race, but sometimes everybody expects a lot and it turns out to be not so good."

Women's 100 Breaststroke
Suzaan van Biljon triumphed in the 100 breast with a time of 1:10.03, while Tammy Laubscher turned in a second-place time of 1:11.92. Claire Rolt rounded out the podium in 1:13.83.

"Tonight, I swam two seconds slower than my personal best which is very disappointing," van Biljon said. "I hope to do better in my remaining events."

Men's 100 Breaststroke
Cameron van der Burgh clocked in at 1:03-flat to squeak out a win over teammate William Diering for the 100 breast. Diering clocked a second-place 1:03.08, while Thabang Moeketsane placed third in 1:03.22.

Men's 400 Freestyle
Jean Basson claimed another title, this time by touching in 3:51.87 in the 400 free. Riaan Schoeman took second in 3:56.18, while Troyden Prinsloo placed third in 3:57.41. Basson's time, however, did not qualify him for the World Championships.

"I am really disappointed. I had my best shot of qualifying in the 200 freestyle," Basson said. "I tried hard tonight but with no real opposition in the race it was always going to be difficult as I swim better when I am pushed."

Women's 400 Freestyle
Wendy Trott nearly notched her second African record after breaking the 800 free two days ago. She hit the wall in 4:14.43, which fell just .2 seconds short of the 4:14.23 set by Melissa Corfe on May 7, 2004. Corfe wound up in second with a 4:14.79 clocking, while Kathryn Meaklim lodged a third-place 4:17.34.

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