New era dawns as rising stars take centre stage at SA Swimming Championships

JOHANNESBURG – Tatjana Smith and Chad le Clos will not be taking part in the SA Senior National Swimming Championships this month.

 The event will take place at Newton Park Swimming Pool in Gqeberha from 9-13 April.

Le Clos is on an extended break to recover from injury. This will be the first time in 20 years that the 2012 Olympic champion won’t be competing at the championships.

Smith announced her retirement from the sport after winning gold and silver at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

This leaves the pool wide open as swimmers target qualification for the World Championships taking place in Singapore from 27 July to 3 August.

One of the athletes who has displayed great swimming is Olympic finalist Pieter Coetzé, who’s trying to balance swimming and being a first-year student.

“This year has been very interesting. I started studying so it’s pretty new to me, having to manage my time a bit more outside of the pool. But I’ve kept up my training and the standard’s quite high, so I’m in good shape and I’m excited to qualify for a few events for the World Championships,” said Coetzé  to swimsa.org

The 20-year-old is looking to qualify in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke and the 50 and 100m freestyle.

Another swimmer to keep an eye on is New Zealand-based swimmer Rebecca Meder, who, a few weeks ahead of the 2024 national championships, suffered a ruptured appendix and plans to leave her mark this year.

“Compared to last year, there’s not really much comparison… This year is a very different set-up. I’m looking forward to actually racing at Nationals… The world is swimming fast at the moment, so I think us South Africans are having to hop on that fast train and see how fast we can go too.”

Meder will be competing in the 100 and 200m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle in Gqeberha.

“I have been doing lots of racing in New Zealand in preparation for Nationals, and my times have been looking really strong and pretty solid in training, which has been quite positive” said Meder.

She’ll be competing against two-time Olympic finalist Kaylene Corbett in the 200m  breaststroke as they hunt for the national champion title.

Matt Sates will also be out to impress after training in Switzerland with Olympic bronze medallist Noè Ponti. 

The Pietermaritzburg swimmer is entered into 10 events. 

Olympian Erin Gallagher is entered into five and is sure to dominate the butterfly sprints, while Aimee Canny will look to defend her 100 and 200m freestyle titles.