Cape Town - Cameron van der Burgh claimed Team South Africa’s first medal in the pool at the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, on Monday, when he was pipped by Adam Peaty in the men’s 100m breaststroke final.
The South African seemed to be headed for a start-to-finish triumph with 25m remaining, but the Brit chased him down to snatch gold with the final stroke for a 0.07-second margin of victory in a time of 58.52. Van der Burgh’s time was 58.59.
Peaty holds the distinction of being the only man in history to break the 58-second mark for the 100m breaststroke. He achieved the 57.92 world mark earlier this year in April.
After the race, Van der Burgh said his fast start may have cost him the race.
“I went out a little too fast but at the end of the day, I am very excited to be swimming fast again, swimming good times and enjoying the sport,” said Van der Burgh. “In looking towards Rio 2016... I am very motivated and will use this as ammunition to train hard throughout the year.
“I am very happy with the swim and I am proud that I laid it all on the line tonight.”
Peaty told the media afterwards that he targeted gold rather than a world record.
“I wasn’t going for my world record, I was just going for gold,” said Peaty. “I knew I had some catching up to do but I kept fighting right to the end, and it paid off.
“Twenty-five metres out he was still in front, so I was a bit sceptical, but I remembered what I had trained for was moments like this and I came out on top - thankfully.”
Chad le Clos remained in medal contention when he clocked in with a fourth-seeded 1:46.10 in the 200m freestyle semi-finals. The final will be on Tuesday evening.
His 1:46.10 time marked a personal best when he finished third in his semi-final after he raced clear in the first 100m. He said he’ll have to improve in Tuesday’s final if he wants to end up winning a medal.
“I am happy to be in the final with a personal best time by one second but I need to be faster if I want to win a medal tomorrow,” said Le Clos.
“I believe it is very promising for the future and my other events. There are a lot of big names there so I am just going to go out there and have fun.”
Fellow South African Myles Brown managed a 10th place finish (6th in his semi-final) in 1:46.85. He’ll be looking for a vastly-improved performance in Tuesday’s 800m freestyle event.
Another South African looking to make his mark on Tuesday is Sebastien Rousseau, who will compete in the 200m butterfly event.
ANA