Cape Town — Tatjana Schoenmaker got the job done to advance to the semi-finals of the 50m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games, but it was teammate Lara van Niekerk who made a big splash at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham on Friday.
Schoenmaker, the 200m breaststroke world record-holder and Olympic champion, made a solid start in her bid for her first medal of the Games by finishing second in her heat in 30.76 seconds.
But it was 19-year-old Van Niekerk — who claimed a bronze medal at the recent world swimming championships in Budapest — who produced the fastest time of the opening round to beat Schoenmaker in heat five with 29.82, which was quicker than her 29.90 effort in Hungary, although her personal best is 29.72.
A word from record breaker, Lara van Niekerk after her impressive 29.82 new Games record. #TeamSA pic.twitter.com/1J7NVqZk1u
— Team South Africa (@TeamSA2024) July 29, 2022
She became the first person to go under 30 seconds at the Commonwealth Games, breaking the 30.17 mark set by Jamaican Alia Atkinson at Glasgow 2014.
“I was quite stressed before the race. I had a heat flush when looking out and the crowd went crazy. So, the adrenalin started pumping, and then I just felt so good in the race,” Van Niekerk said afterwards.
“I was gliding through the water. And then, after I touched (the wall), I saw my time and everyone went crazy because I broke that Games record. It was just amazing, and I’m feeling so happy, and just happy to be here.”
A third South African, Kaylene Corbett, finished second in her heat in 31.07, and she will join Van Niekerk and Schoenmaker in Friday night’s semi-finals.
On the men’s swimming front, Chad le Clos claimed fifth 23.80 in the 50m butterfly to advance to the semi-finals, while Pieter Coetze made a serious impression by posting the quickest time in the 100m backstroke heats in 53.91.
In the women’s individual triathlon race, South Africa’s Simone Ackerman finished eighth in a time of 57 minutes and 19 seconds (57:19), while Flora Duffy of Bermuda grabbed the gold medal in 55:25.
The two other South Africans, Shanae Williams (60:58) and Hannah Newman (64:08) ended 20th and 21st respectively.
IOL Sport