Several local swimmers achieved A qualifying times for the World Swimming Championships in Japan at the SA National Aquatic Championships which took place in Port Elizabeth last week.

Olympic star Tatjana Schoenmaker already ensured on day one of the championship that she was not to be outdone again in the 100m breaststroke, regaining her national title on the opening night ahead of another local star and Commonwealth Games champion, Lara van Niekerk.

Schoenmaker’s victory came in 1:05.89 to equal the second fastest time in the world this year with Van Niekerk second in 1:06.74.

Like they had done in the morning heats, both Van Niekerk and Schoenmaker comfortably achieved A qualifying times for the Swimming World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July while third-place Kaylene Corbett’s time of 1:08.57 was a B qualifier.

On the second day of the championship Schoenmaker secured the national 200m breaststroke title in the second fastest time in the world this year.

The world record holder and Olympic champion in the event cruised to victory in a time of 2:22.44s with her training partner, Corbett, second in 2:25.40 – both A qualifying times for the World Championships.

In the 50m breaststroke item the teenage sensation, Lara van Niekerk, beat her provincial teammates and won the gold medal in 29.78s ahead of Schoenmaker, who also achieved the A qualifying time in 30.71s.

Meanwhile, another Pretoria star, Pieter Coetzé, provided the highlight in the men’s program, powering to a new national and continental record in the 100m backstroke.

The 18-year-old’s time of 52.78s beat the record 52.95 he swam in the semifinals on his way to silver at last year’s World Championships in Peru, and placed him second fastest in the world this year.

Coetzé added the 200m backstroke gold to his collection, cruising to victory in 1:56.66 – also an A qualifier for the World Championships. He withdrew from the 50m butterfly final on Sunday to focus on the backstroke event and was duly rewarded with the fifth fastest time in the world this season in the 200m backstroke.

“I was feeling a little bit tired so I thought it might not go well tonight. So, I’m actually a little bit shocked with that but very happy,” said Coetzé, who explained he’s still working on perfecting the 200m event.

In the 50m backstroke Coetzé came within two hundredths of a second of one of the older SA men’s swimming records. He powered to victory in 24.36 seconds, placing him top in the world so far this year but just short of Gerhard Zandberg’s 2009 mark.

Also achieving an A-qualification time for the World Championships was another NTS swimmer, Erin Gallagher. The 24-year-old added to her 100m butterfly victory by taking the 50m butterfly title in a time of 26.31, qualifying for the world championship in both items.

Another local star, veteran Roland Schoeman wrapped up his return to the championships with a first national title since 2015. The 42-year-old claimed the win in the 50m butterfly ahead of Clayton Jimmie and Ryan Coetzee, but his time of 23.83 fell short of the A-qualifying time for the World Championships. The top three in the race, did nevertheless achieve B qualifying times.

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