DURBAN – Duné Coetzee, the South African senior women's 200m butterfly champion, has set her heart on qualifying for two more Commonwealth Games events after securing a qualifying time in the 200m freestyle in Durban on Sunday evening.
Coetzee clocked a personal best of 2:02.68 for the 200m freestyle at the KZN Aquatics Premier Championships and that allowed her to join the ranks of several SA swimmers who have attained qualifying times for the Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia, next April.
The 15-year-old Coetzee has now targeted qualifying times for the 200m-butterfly and the 400m-freestyle events.
“From August my coach, Linda de Jager, and I worked on improving my times in the 200-metre events,” said Coetzee.
“I am so so excited about the time I have swum as it proves that if you are prepared to put in the hard work, you will reap success.
“The time difference between Australia's Gold Coast and Tokyo where the 2020 Olympic Games is going to be held is only an hour which means it will give me the opportunity to get used to competing in that timezone.”
Even though Coetzee has qualified for the one event, it is not a foregone conclusion that she will be selected for the Commonwealth Games.
At 15 she might be too young but she's hoping she will get the chance to compete as she sees it as an opportunity to gain valuable experience.