CASABLANCA – The South African swimming team concluded the aquatics programme of the African Games in Casablanca, Morocco, on Saturday with a phenomenal total of 45 medals (20 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze) and claimed the top spot of the medal table.
Jessica Whelan finished the competition on a high note, winning the gold medal in the 200m individual medley in 2:19.44, just over a second ahead of Algeria’s Hamida Nefsi in 2:20.57 and Mzansi’s Christin Mundell in 2:21.70.
Erin Gallagher and Emma Chelius made a formidable duo in the 50m freestyle, scooping the gold and bronze in 24.95 and 25.25 respectively, while Egypt’s Farida Osman won the silver in 25.06.
Gallagher and Chelius were also part of the gold winning 4x100m medley relay, alongside Kaylene Corbett and Kerryn Herbst when they finished first in 4:12.42, while the men’s 4 x 100m medley relay team of Martin Binedell, Michael Houlie, Ryan Coetzee and Alaric Basson grabbed the gold medal in 3:40.24.
Herbst and Binedell also won the bronze in their respective 100m backstroke races.
Herbst’s time was 1:03.76 behind the Seychelles’ Felicite Passon in 1:02.42 and Botswana’s Naomi Ruele in 1:02.62, while Binedell posted 56.20 to Algeria’s Abdellah Ardjoune golden 55.02 and Egypt’s Mohamed Hassan’s silver 55.57.
Another bronze medal was secured by Neil Fair in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:04.15, while the gold went to Algeria’s Jaouad Syoud in 2:02.49 and the silver to Egypt’s Yassin Elshamaa in 2:03.98.
Samantha Randle bagged the silver in the 800m freestyle in 8:55.32, while Brad Tandy managed a bronze place finish in the 50m freestyle, clocking 22.21.
In Budapest, during the fifth day of the World Junior Swimming Championships, Aimee Canny successfully qualified for the final of the 50m freestyle after a fourth place finish in tonight’s semifinals, touching the wall in 25.29, while teammate Michaela de Villiers was 58th in 27.79.
Canny, alongside Dune Coetzee, Trinity Hearne and Rebecca Meder also participated in the 4x100m freestyle relay where they ended 12th in 3:49.83.
Coetzee was also in the pool for the 100m butterfly semifinals and finished in 14th place in 1:00.45, while Hearne concluded the heats of the event in 36th place in 1:03.26.
In the heats of the 100m freestyle, Gawie Nortje and Matthew Bosch finished 34th and 36th in 51.61 and 51.80, while in the 400m individual medley, Ruan Breytenbach and Luca Holtzhausen came in 20th and 27th in 4:28.44 and 4:37.84, respectively.
Michael Deans and Matthew Sates took to the water in the 50m breaststroke and managed an overall 25th and 46th place finish in 29.07 and 30.43, while the 1500m freestyle saw Hannah Robertson and Tori Oliver end 13th and 21st in 17:25.01 and 18:16.95, respectively.
The World Junior Swimming Championships conclude on Sunday.