DAKAR, Senegal, September 12. THE first day of the African Swimming Championships held in Dakar, Senegal from Sept. 11-17 is in the books with Tunisia taking a lead with five medals overall. The Tunisians accounted for two golds, two silvers and one bronze. Meanwhile, South Africa owned the most top-heavy total with three golds and one bronze.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 400 Freestyle<\/b>
\nTunisia opened up the meet with a top-two sweep as Ahmed Mathlouthi clocked a 3:58.75 to win the men\u2019s 400 free with Mohamed Mettigi placing second with a 4:02.13. Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Magdy rounded out the top three with a 4:02.92.<\/p>\n
After initially falling behind with a 1:58.63 split at the 200-meter mark, Mathlouthi back-halfed the race to take a full-second lead at the 300-meter mark with a 2:58.62 against Mettigi\u2019s 2:59.66.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 100 Freestyle<\/b>
\nSouth Africa\u2019s Leone Vorster won the women\u2019s 100 freestyle with the only sub 58-second time by touching in 57.67. Meanwhile, Tunisia\u2019s Sarra Chahed finished second with a 58.01, while Zimbabwe\u2019s Samantha Richter garnered bronze in 59.44.<\/p>\n
Vorster led wire-to-wire with a 27.97 first 50 to touch just in front of Chahed\u2019s 27.98 at the halfway mark. Vorster then came home in 29.70 to secure the title.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 100 Breaststroke<\/b>
\nSouth Africa went back-to-back with a victory in the men\u2019s 100 breast as Thabang Moeketsane won the title by nearly four tenths of a second. Moeketsane hit the wall with a 1:03.39 to down Algerian Sofiane Daid\u2019s silver-winning time of 1:03.78. Meanwhile, Senegal\u2019s Malick Fall captured bronze with a 1:04.18 in front of a home crowd.<\/p>\n
While Moeketsane trailed Fall at the halfway mark 29.43 to 29.18, the South African brought it home in 33.96 to win the race.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 400 IM<\/b>
\nTunisia\u2019s Maroua Mathlouthi kept the 400-meter distance in the family with a triumph in the women\u2019s 400 IM to match Ahmed\u2019s conquest in the 400 free for the men. Maroua crushed the competition with a 4:55.58 for the African title in the event.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Algerian Souad Nafisa Cherouati picked up silver in 5:03.50, while Seychelles\u2019 Shrone Austin rounded out the podium with a 5:09.15.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 100 Butterfly<\/b>
\nKenya\u2019s Jason Dunford dominated the field in the men\u2019s 100 fly with a 53.88 to finish well ahead of Egyptian Ahmed Salah\u2019s silver-winning effort of 55.00. Meanwhile, South African Fouche Venter finished third in 55.40.<\/p>\n
Dunford left no doubt with a full second lead at the halfway mark when he recorded a 24.61 front half. He then split a 29.27 in the final 50 meters in the race.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 800 Freestyle Relay<\/b>
\nSouth Africa snared the first relay title of the meet with an 8:36.20 in the women\u2019s 800-meter freestyle as the quartet of Vorster, Elzanne Werth, Louise Smyth and Tamaryn Laubscher laid claim to the crown.<\/p>\n
Vorster opened the race with a 2:05.76 leadoff leg, while Werth finished the second quarter of the race with a 2:07.27 to push the South Africans to a six-second advantage. Smyth turned in a 2:12.98 to lose nearly two seconds of that lead before Laubscher held on to the win with a 2:10.19 anchor leg.<\/p>\n
Algeria\u2019s team of Kenza Matoub, Fella Bennaceur, Cherouati and Sarah Hadjabderahmane earned silver in 8:40.60, while the Tunisian squad of Chahed, Raoudha Rebai, Mariem Meddem and Maroua Mathlouthi pocketed bronze in 8:45.86.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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