Schoenmaker and Corbett lift SA medal haul with podium double

Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker returned to the top of the podium on Sunday night, leading compatriot Kaylene Corbett to a podium double as South African swimmers continued to rake in medals on the third day of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Schoenmaker, who had settled for fourth place in the women’s 50m breaststroke final the night before, coasted to a convincing victory over the 200m distance in 2:21.92, with Corbett grabbing bronze in 2:23.67.

The two South Africans were separated by Australia’s Jenna Strauch, who took the runner-up spot in 2:23.65.

Earlier, Chad le Clos made history by earning silver in the men’s 200m butterfly final.

He touched the wall in 1:55.89, just 0.29 off the pace of New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt (1:55.60).

With his latest podium result, 30-year-old Le Clos lifted his career tally to 18 medals, equalling the all-time record Commonwealth Games haul held by shooters Phillip Adams of Australia and Mick Gault of England.

ALSO READ: Chad le Clos storms to record 18th Commonwealth Games medal

In other swimming finals, Emma Chelius narrowly missed out on a medal in the women’s 50m freestyle, finishing fourth in 24.78, with compatriot Erin Gallagher ending eighth in 25.39.

The SA women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team finished fourth in 8:02.25, Christian Sadie took fifth place in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB8 event in 1:22.14, Rebecca Meder was eighth in the women’s 100m backstroke in 1:01.71, and Brenden Crawford also settled for eighth spot in the men’s 100m breaststroke in 1:01.98.

Teenager Pieter Coetze, who secured gold in the 100m backstroke on day two of the Games, dominated the men’s 50m backstroke semifinals, qualifying fastest for Monday night’s final in 24.81.

Erin Gallagher was also set to line among the medal contenders on Monday after qualifying second quickest (26.17) in the women’s 50m butterfly semifinals.

Other codes

Elsewhere at the multi-sport Games on Sunday, the Blitzboks earned gold in the men’s rugby sevens tournament with a 31-7 win over Fiji, lifting the nation’s tally to six medals (four gold, one silver and one bronze) as Team SA climbed to fourth place in the overall standings after three days of action.

In their last match of the tournament, the SA women’s rugby sevens team picked up their first win, romping to a consolation 52-0 victory over Sri Lanka to take seventh position.

Weightlifter Anneke Spies placed fourth in the women’s 59kg division, lifting a total of 190kg, while gymnast Nareen Davies was the best of the South Africans in the all-round artistic finals, ending sixth in the women’s competition.

In the mixed triathlon relay, Jamie Riddle, Simone Ackerman, Henri Schoeman and Shanae Williams settled for eighth place in 1:21:17.

Earlier, in the para triathlon races, Linsay Engelbrecht finished fifth in the women’s event in 1:23:27 and Gavin Kilpatrick was seventh in the men’s contest in 1:10:07.