Hungary

Saturday, 25 June 2022 – Lara van Niekerk stormed to victory in her 50m breaststroke semi-final in Budapest on Friday night to book a spot in her first ever World Championships final. The 19-year-old once again dipped under 30 seconds, winning her semi-final in 29.99. With that she qualified third fastest for the final. The only swimmers quicker on the night were Italian world record holder Benedetta Pilato, who won the other semi-final in 29.83, and former world record holder Ruta Meilutyte who finished second in 29.97. “I knew I was ahead – I didn’t really see anyone, but I knew it was going to be close,” said Van Niekerk afterwards. “I’m happy to be under 30 seconds again. It shows that it’s starting to become consistent, going under 30 seconds.” As for competing in her first international final at senior level, the Pretoria teen added: “I think I’m just going to go out there and enjoy it, not let the pressure get to me and just see what I can do.” Speaking about Saturday night’s final and taking on the likes of Pilato and Meilutyte, Van Niekerk’s coach Eugene da Ponte reckoned: “We’ve always been pretty good at not racing the people next to us and just racing the clock so we’ve got a time in mind of what might win it tomorrow and that’s going to be what we’re chasing. We’re not going to be too worried about who is swimming next to us.” Adding what the ultimate goal is, Da Ponte said: “Obviously a gold medal. Being a world champion, besides the Olympics, is the pinnacle for any athlete. But I would be happy for her to just medal. It’s her first big international meet at senior level so to make that step up and get onto the podium would be really nice, but we’ll give it a good go and see what happens.” The other South African in action on Friday evening, Emma Chelius, just missed out on a spot in the 50m freestyle final after finishing in ninth place overall. Chelius finished fifth in her semi-final in a time of 24.87 – exactly the same time she swam in the …

Saturday, 25 June 2022 – Lara van Niekerk ensured South Africa’s proud record in the World Championships pool continued by bagging a bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke on Saturday night. Competing in her first major event at senior level, the 19-year-old came up against world record-holder Benedetta Pilato and 2013 world champion Ruta Meilutyte in the final. Van Niekerk swam 29.90 to take the bronze, with Meilutyte taking gold for Lithuania in 29.70 and Pinato the silver for Italy in 29.80. Van Niekerk’s performance means South Africa have claimed a medal at every long course World Championships since Roland Schoeman’s solitary bronze in the 50m freestyle at the 2001 event. “Surprisingly I wasn’t that nervous. I thought I would be way more freaked out than I was,” admitted the talented teenager. “I was actually very calm and just focused on what I had to do and how I had to execute the race, so I think that was a really good thing – learning how to manage the nerves. “I’m so happy. My first senior world champs and winning a medal, I think it’s a bonus,” she added. The last time Van Niekerk competed at a world championships in Budapest was the junior edition as a 16-year-old back in 2019 where she finished just off the podium in fourth, with a then 14-year-old Pilato taking the gold. Asked about her progress since then, Van Niekerk reckoned: “I’m definitely happy with the improvement. If you look at my time at junior worlds, it’s a two-second difference. I’m just happy to be improving, it’s a good sign.” Meanwhile, Van Niekerk’s coach, Eugene da Ponte was thrilled with the medal, particularly with an eye on the next month’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. “That was half the reason we decided to come here, to deal with the more high-pressure situation so that when we get to Commonwealth Games, we can really focus and try to swim really fast. This was more for experience and that’s going to be for trying to get the times we really want. I’m looking forward to it. I …

Wednesday, 22 June 2022 – Matt Sates booked a place in his first ever World Championships final in Budapest on Tuesday. The 18-year-old from Pietermaritzburg swam 1:57.74 to finish third in his 200m individual medley semi-final on Tuesday night to secure a place in Wednesday’s final as the eighth quickest swimmer. Earlier in the day Sates was second behind Japan’s defending champion Daiya Seto in his morning heat in 1:58.61 to qualify seventh fastest overall for the semi-finals. Sates reached the semi-finals in the same event at last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo but progressed no further, making this his first major championship final at international level. The teenager has been recovering from a cold he picked up before the start of the championships and his coach, Wayne Riddin, explained: “He definitely is not where he was two weeks ago, but he is getting stronger after those five days of antibiotics. “I keep reminding him that the focus is Birmingham [Commonwealth Games]. If we can get close to the 1:57.43 he swam in Monaco [at the Mare Nostrum series], I will be happy.” Meanwhile, Chad le Clos has withdrawn from the Championships after struggling with breathing issues following his 50m butterfly heat at the start of the event. The former Olympic champion has headed to the UK and hopes to be fully recovered in time for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next month. On Tuesday evening, one of the events Le Clos should have swum was dominated by Hungary’s home hero Kristof Milak who shattered the 200m butterfly world record. He powered to victory well clear of any of his rivals in a blistering time of 1:50.34. Earlier in the day, there were two other South Africans in action. Olivia Nel finished seventh in her 50m backstroke heat in 29.06 to claim 23rd spot overall while Clayton Jimmie also finished seventh in his 100m freestyle heat in 50.68 for 55th place overall. Brenden Crawford was the only South African swimmer in action on Monday, …