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2024 SOUTH AFRICAN SC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day 2 of the 2024 South African Short Course Championships took place tonight from Durban and a pair of teens stole the show.
16-year-old Kris Mihaylov topped the men’s 800m free podium, registering a time of 7:43.56. That beat the field by 4 seconds en route to putting up a 2024 Short Course World Championships-worthy result.
He then also added the 200m free to his list of victories, achieving an outing of 1:44.77.
17-year-old Jessica Thompson also turned heads tonight at King’s Park pool, hitting a mark of 25.76 in a time trial of the women’s 50m fly.
To Swimming South Africa, Thompson said of her accomplishment, “I think I was really nervous – a lot of people were watching so I think it was just a big deal proving to myself that all the hard work and training that has gone into it has all paid off… I just had to trust myself and give it a shot.
Thompson added, “I just tried to take away a breath because I realised it was slowing me down a bit and my underwaters I’ve been training a lot, so I took an extra kick off the turn and I’m just so happy I executed that time, it’s been a great day.”
Later in the evening, Thompson added the 50m backstroke to her list of victories in Durban, winning in a time of 26.97 seconds, not far off the 26.54 needed for another qualifying time.
Additional Notes
- 32-year-old Chad Le Clos clocked a time of 49.50 in the men’s 100m freestyle.
- 21-year-old University of Georgia standout Ruard Van Renen took the men’s 50m back (23.31) and earned silver in the 100m fly (50.24). Le Clos topped the 100m fly podium in 49.50.
- After his races, Van Renen said, “Usually the 50 I just swim for fun, I wasn’t expecting any times.t’s just kind of a primer race for tomorrow’s 100 backstroke so swimming that time was ridiculous.
- “The 100 back is the main focus, that’s what I flew in for,” added the US-based rising star. “Anything that I picked up before that is a bonus.”
- Le Clos said after his 100m fly gold, “After this morning I would have been happy with a 50-low or 49-high so I was delighted with the time.
- “It’s about a second off what I won it in two years ago so I’m very, very excited. But Ruard again, swimming 50.2… it’s great for the future of our sport.”