Margate swimmers bag a bunch of medals
Coach Cheree Dufner was immensely proud of the swimmers' efforts.
DESPITE the 2015/16 season being arguably one of the toughest, Team Margate showed true resilience and heart to turn the championship events into the Margate Swimming Club’s most successful to date.
Britney Pieterse and Josh Parry showed great form at their maiden Level 3 National Championship held in Port Elizabeth.
Britney (16) bettered her times in three events, earning her highest individual placing in the 200m breaststroke where she finished 10th in a time of 2:59.01.
Josh (12), one of the youngest swimmers at the meet, finished inside the top 15 for both his favoured events, the 50m and 100m butterfly where he clocked his fastest time of the season, coming home in 1:14.51.
Denita Pieterse, Jeandré Michau, Charles Thompson, Arno Smith, JP Myburgh, Suné de Wit and Kai Hielckert competed at the Level 2 Championships in Durban where they collectively bagged 21 medals.
Denita (17) finished with three podium finishes, placing second in the 200m breaststroke and third in the 50m and 100m breaststroke.
Jeandré (17) progressed through to three finals, placing ninth in the 100m breaststroke and sixth in both the 50m freestyle and 200m breaststroke.
Charles (16) qualified for nine finals, with a solid swim in his 100m butterfly where he dropped 4.79 secs to place seventh overall in a time of 1:06.92, well inside the Level 2 qualifying time.
Arno (14) won the 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:55.69 and finished second in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke.
JP (14) claimed silver in the 50m backstroke and 100m butterfly event, picking up his first Level 3 qualifying time, and bronze in the 50m breaststroke and 100m backstroke events.
Suné (13) produced the best performance of the championship when she dropped 12 seconds in the heats to go through to the finals in the 200m breaststroke, dropping a further three seconds to touch the wall first and claim gold in a time of 3:05.75.
She went on to finish third in both the 400m freestyle and 200m backstroke events.
Kai (11) qualified for two finals, placing 10th in the 50m breaststroke and fifth in the 200m breaststroke adding another Level 2 qualifying time.
Rounding off an excellent performance at Level 2, Team Margate finished in spectacular fashion when they came from behind to take the silver in the mixed 4x50m medley relay and bronze in the men’s 4x50m medley relay.
At the Level 1 championships, Ruan Michau, Jeandré Joubert, April Niemack, Hannah Scott, Ruby van der Merwe and Khrysten le Roux added a further 10 medals to Team Margate’s championship tally.
Ruan (15) put in a strong performance winning the 50m freestyle in a time of 27.24, and continued his good form picking up silver in the 200m breaststroke, and bronze in the 50m backstroke and 200m freestyle events.
Jeandré (14) went on to claim gold in a tightly contested 200m backstroke race to record a personal best time of 2:45.77, adding a silver in the 100m backstroke and a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke.
April (13) picked up three golds in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events, and a silver medal in the 200m individual medley.
Hannah (12) and Ruby (12) both qualified for two finals, collecting top 10 ribbon placings in their very first regional championships, while Khrysten (9) the youngest teammate showcased her technique and discipline to racing gaining valuable points for her team.
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