{"id":642135,"date":"2026-04-19T21:45:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=642135"},"modified":"2026-04-19T21:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:45:06","slug":"calvyn-justus-earns-50-free-berth-for-south-africa-after-long-injury-ordeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/calvyn-justus-earns-50-free-berth-for-south-africa-after-long-injury-ordeal\/","title":{"rendered":"Calvyn Justus Earns 50 Free Berth for South Africa After Long Injury Ordeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calvyn Justus Earns 50 Free Berth for South Africa After Long Injury Ordeal\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Calvyn Justus<\/strong> sealed a place at the Commonwealth Games at the South African Championships on Friday, the 30-year-old hitting the time standard in the 50 freestyle.<\/p>\n

Justus, an Olympian in Rio in 2016 who was unable to walk for a year due to debilitating back injuries, clocked in at 21.97 seconds in prelims. That hit the Commonwealth Games standard at the Bombela Concession Company South Africa National Aquatic Championships at Newton Park Swimming Pool.<\/p>\n

Both he and winner Pieter Coetze<\/strong> were slower at night. But Justus finished second, and he\u2019ll get another chance to swim the event this summer at the main meet in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went through a pretty bad back injury, took five years away from the sport. And when I healed up, I just wanted to do something with my body again,\u201d Justus said<\/a>. \u201cI got back in the water pretty quickly, fell in love again and thought let me give it one more go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI herniated three discs, which pinched my sciatic nerve. \u2026 I lost like 20 kg. It was one of the lowest points in my life but when I healed from that I had a lot of motivation to get stronger and to use my body as much as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n