DURBAN, South Africa, October 8. GERHARD Zandberg, the captain of the South African National Team, received a pair of honors at the recent Swimming South Africa Aquatics Awards. Zandberg, the world champion in the 50-meter backstroke, was named Personality of the Year and Swimmer of the Year. The Personality of the Year Award was based on a public poll.
Cameron van der Burgh and Jessica Pengelly were lauded as Most Promising Athletes and Roland Schoeman was honored with Performance of the Year for his clocking of 20.98 in the short-course version of the 50-meter freestyle. The effort, produced in Germany, was good for a world record. Schoeman also won the 50 butterfly at the World Champs.
An argument could have been made for Schoeman as the Swimmer of the Year, what with his status as one of the world's premier sprinters and his world record. While Zandberg won the 50 back at the World Champs, it is not an Olympic event and one must wonder if his allegiance to South Africa had something to do with beating out Schoeman. Zandberg trains in his homeland while Schoeman trains in Arizona and his disputes with Swimming South Africa are well known.