Johannesburg – Olympic and Commonwealth gold medallist Cameron van der Burgh stroked his way to a $100 000 payday as the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup Series wrapped up in Dubai on Saturday evening.
Van der Burgh was on top of the world as he claimed first position on the ranking table based on the points accumulated over the last seven legs. And there were more accolades for SA as Chad le Clos ended runner-up and banked a cool $50 000.
Van der Burgh confirmed the series-winning prize when he won the gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke with a time of 59.05 seconds and is now unbeaten in 24 consecutive appearances in the 50m and 100m breaststroke combined, since taking silver behind Roland Schoeman in Singapore in 2009.
Le Clos celebrated that achievement by winning gold in the 100m butterfly with a time of 51.09 and the silver medal in the 50m freestyle in 22.22. Doug Erasmus finished fourth in 22.34.
Le Clos also finished fifth in the 200m backstroke in 2:00.23 with Martin Binedell taking eighth in 2:03.26.
Michael Meyer won the bronze in the 200m individual medley, clocking 2:02.38 behind Japan’s Keita Sunama in 2:00.72 and Luxembourg’s Raphael Stacchiotti in 2:01.09.
In other results, Kaylene Corbett came eighth in the 50m breaststroke in 33.10, while Jacques van Wyk was sixth in the 50m backstroke in 25.58. – African News Agency (ANA)