Team SA’s swimmers picked up where golden girl Kat Swanepoel left off at the World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester on Thursday.
Swanepoel won gold on Wednesday night to add to the silver she secured earlier in the week, and on Thursday morning four Team SA swimmers continued the good work.
Cornelle Leach was the first in action, in the opening heat of the women’s S12 100m breaststroke. She finished fifth in her race, in 1min 31.57sec, which left her outside the list of qualifiers for the final.
However, minutes later Alani Ferreira raced to an African record 1min 23.43sec in the second heat. Ferreira placed second, but put herself in the medals discussion as her time was third fastest overall heading into the final.
Another swimmer in medals contention is Christian Sadie, who placed third overall after the heats of the men’s S7 100m backstroke. He was second to the wall in heat two, with his time of 1:14.10 also an African record. The race for medals is certain to be hot, but the South African will be confident that he can pull off something special.
A fourth swimmer, Nathan Hendricks, also reached the final of his event, the S13 100m backstroke. He clocked a time of 1:03.12, which was a personal best and also an ‘A’ qualifying time for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Also in action in the finals will be Swanepoel, looking to add to her memorable meeting, and the teenager talent Danika Vyncke.
MEDALS SO FAR (2)
Gold
Kat Swanepoel (SM4 150m individual medley)
Silver
Kat Swanepoel (SB9 50m breaststroke)
AFRICAN RECORDS SO FAR (5)
Kat Swanepoel (SB9 50m breaststroke, 57.19)
Kat Swanepoel (S4 100m freestyle, 1:36.13)
Kat Swanepoel (SM4 150m individual medley, 2:51.41)
Alani Ferreira (S12 100m butterfly, 1:18.35)
Christian Sadie (S7 100m backstroke, 1:14.10)