Daily Archives: April 12, 2017

Day 03 of the 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championships

Polokwane, Wednesday, 12^th April 2017  – The National SA Schools Championships swimming action continued at the Polokwane Town Swimming Pool in Limpopo tonight (Wednesday, 12^th April 2017) and SA’s talented youth persisted on their quest for glory.

Gauteng schools dominated the pool once again with a total 126 medals (63 gold, 38 silver and 25 bronze), while KZN Aquatics came a close second with 88 medals (32 gold, 28 silver and 28 bronze), and the Free State schools third with 31 medals (10 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze).

The fast 50m freestyle event lived up to expectations when Gauteng’s Willem Roos (12), Free State’s Simeon Vorster (13), KZN’s Lucas Beukes (15) and Gauteng’s Jan Moll (16) all touched the wall with golden times of 29.00, 27.53, 25.31 and 24.42, as the ladies who brought home the title were KZN’s Emma Christianson (12), Mpumalanga’s Brooklyn Croxon (13), Free State’s Alida van der Merwe (14) and Eastern Cape’s Lesley Blignaut (17) in 29.93, 27.99, 27.97 and 27.55, respectively.

12 year old Elijah Dredge from Gauteng claimed victory in the 200m backstroke event in 2:36.52, with the other wins in the various categories going to teammates Joshua Neuhoff (13) in 2:38.86 and Ethan Spieker (15) in 2:15.20 as well as Free State’s Cullen Thomas (17) in 2:16.16.

In the ladies 200m backstroke, the champions were Dieu van Jaarsveld (12) in 2:42.18, KZN’s Courtney Steyn (13) in 2:32.10, Eastern Cape’s Tayla Botha (15) in 2:31.04 and Gauteng’s Janie Coetzer (16) in 2:27.96.

Gauteng’s Benke Grobler (12), KZN’s Ozzy Aromin (13), Free State’s Luan de Waal (15) and Gauteng’s Michael Deans (16) finished first in the 200m breaststroke in 2:52.20, 2:46.72, 2:34.86 and 2:30.46, while the ladies who grabbed the gold in their respective age group races were Gauteng’s Michaela dal Medico (12), KZN’s Emma Kuhn (13), Gauteng’s Gabriella Moll (14) and Mpumalanga’s Jordyn Minifie (16) in 2:57.96, 2:50.13, 2:49.88 and 2:48.09, respectively.

There was plenty to celebrate in the multi-disability events with Mpumalanga’s Shane le Roux (13), Gauteng’s Slindokuhle Mabanga (18) and Bongekile Sabeka (19) winning the 100m breaststroke in 2:53.86, 1:19.24 and 1:52.90, respectively.

Gauteng’s Pierre Dellieu bagged his third gold medal of the competition in the S14-15 50m butterfly in 26.86, while KZN’s Simone Mare (16) won the S1-13 race in 50.48.

The 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championships, which is organized by Sport and Recreation South Africa, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, Swimming South Africa and National Schools Aquatics, will conclude tomorrow with the heats starting at 09h00 and the finals at 15h00.

 

Day 02 of the 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championships

Polokwane, Tuesday, 11^th April 2017  – South Africa’s rising talent continued to shine during the second day of the 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championships taking place at the Polokwane Town Swimming Pool in Limpopo.

After two days of competition, Gauteng Province is in the lead with a total of 84 medals (41 gold, 26 silver and 17 bronze), followed by KZN with 59 medals (23 gold, 19 silver and 17 bronze) and Mpumalanga with 25 medals (6 gold, 11 silver and 8 bronze).

Free State’s Luan de Waal was a regular on the medal podium with a gold in the 100m breaststroke (14-15) in 1:09.41 and a silver in the 200m individual medley in 2:20.81, while 13 year old Brooklyn Croxon from Mpumalanga bagged two gold medals in the 100m breaststroke in 1:18.02 and the 100m freestyle in 1:02.70.

Gauteng’s Ryan Zasas (13) and Eastern Cape’s Alex Goddard (17) were also two times lucky on the night, with Zasas winning two gold medals in the 100m freestyle in 59.88 and the 200m individual medley in 2:30.50, while Goddard walked away with gold in the freestyle race clocking 54.07 and later won the bronze in the 50m butterfly in 27.05.

Eastern Cape’s Lesley Blignaut was fast off the block in the 100m freestyle finishing first in 59.56 and in the 50m butterfly; the 17 year old managed a silver medal clocking 29.90, while youngster Kian Keylock (12) from Gauteng won the 200m individual medley in 2:45.22 and the 50m butterfly in 32.43.

It was gold and silver for 12 year old Amy Muller from Gauteng, winning the 200m individual medley in 2:41.80 and finishing second in the 50m butterfly in 32.17, while KZN’s 13 year old Ambrin Pienaar claimed victory in her medley race in 2:37.52 and later won the silver in the 50m butterfly in 32.16.

The 100m breaststroke proved highly entertaining with Gauteng’s Benke Grobler winning the 11-12 age group category in 1:19.18, followed by Western Province’s Keeno Swarts (1:23.72) and Rafeeq Isaac (1:25.02), while in the 13 age group race KZN’s Ozzy Aromin swam to victory in 1:16.57 ahead of teammate Myles Lea (1:19.32) and Free State’s Cobus Moolman (1:22.24).

The top spots in the remaining 100m breaststroke events went to Gauteng’s Michael Deans (16) in 1:08.10, KZN’s Simei Bekker (11) in 1:21.07, Mpumalanga’s Kayla Schefermann (15) in 1:18.20 and KZN’s Emma Huxtable (16) in 1:18.98.

The fast times continued in the 100m freestyle as Gauteng’s Willem Roos (12) won his race in 1:03.90, while fellow teammate Ethan Spieker (15) grabbed the gold in his category in 54.43.  The ladies’ gold medals went to Gauteng’s Dieu van Jaarsveld (12) in 1:04.87 and Kelsea Munro (15) in 1:02.62.

Mpumalanga’s Giano dos Santos (15) and Eastern Cape’s Damien Fourie (16) bagged gold medals in their respective 200m individual medley event in 2:19.06 and 2:20.07, while the ladies’ first places went to KZN’s Tori Oliver (14) and Gauteng’s Jesica Smit (17) in 2:34.07 and 2:28.11, respectively.

Oliver also went on to win the 50m butterfly in 30.37.

In the 50m butterfly events, the gold medals were collected by Free State’s Simeon Voster (13) in 29.26, KZN’s Lucas Beukes (15) in 27.28 and Gauteng’s Jan Moll (16) in 26.38, while on the ladies’ side, KZN’s Emma Christianson (12), Limpopo’s Kristin Lottering (13) and Gauteng’s Chante Cornelius (16) won in 32.10, 31.80 and 29.51, respectively.

In the multi-disability races, Thulane Mabuza (19) continued his winning streak in the S1-13 100m freestyle with a time of 1:05.02, while Pierre Dellieu (19), who recently qualified for the Deaf Olympics during the SA National Aquatic Championships, claimed the gold in his freestyle S14-15 event in 55.79.

On the ladies’ side, Gauteng’s Bongekile Sebeka won the S1-13 100m freestyle in 1:24.63, while her Provincial teammate, Moneque Edwards was victorious in the S14-15 category in 1:34.92.

The 100m S1-13 breaststroke gold medals went to Limpopo’s Nathan Struwig (11) in 1:59.23, KZN’s Khulekani Sikhosana (17) in 42.33 and KZN’s Mnqobi Macanda (17) in 41.43, while the ladies’ titles went to Gauteng’s Bongekile Sabeka (19) in 50.50 and KZN’s Snenhlanhla Majozi (17) in 1:01.27.

The 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championships, which is organized by Sport and Recreation South Africa, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, Swimming South Africa and National Schools Aquatics, will continue tomorrow with the heats starting at 09h00 and the finals at 15h00 daily.

The 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championships kick off in Polokwane

Polokwane, Tuesday, 11^th April 2017  – Mzansi’s youth showcased tremendous skill and talent as the first day of the 2017 National SA Schools Swimming Championship kicked off at the Polokwane Town Swimming Pool in Limpopo last night, Monday, 10^th April.

The event, which is organized by Sport and Recreation South Africa, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education and Swimming South Africa, is aimed at promoting school sport among learners and addressing the strategic objectives of the National Development Plan.

Limpopo’s Ivan Beukes began the competition with a gold medal in the 100m backstroke (16-17) in a fast 1:00.51 and a silver medal in the 200m freestyle, clocking 2:00.57 behind Jan Moll who sped to a gold in the 200m freestyle clocking 1:58.53.

Gauteng’s Dieu van Jaarsveld also claimed two medals on the opening night with a gold in the 200m freestyle (11-12) in 2:23.20 followed by Lise Coetzee in 2:27.70 and Lisbe Booyse in 2:29.44, while in the 100m backstroke, it was silver for Van Jaarsveld in 1:16.01 ahead of Ashley Ebing in 1:16.13 and behind Tanna Harrod in 1:15.08.

In the highly competitive 200m freestyle races, the 11-12 age group category gold went to Gauteng’s Kieran Grant in 2:22.81 while silver and bronze went to Enzi Nogueira in 2:24.85 and Regardt Grobler in 2:25.76 respectively, while the 13 age group title was claimed by KZN’s Ozzy Aromin in 2:16.53 ahead of Ayden Jordaan in 2:23.34 and Kuhlekonke Mkhize in 2:28.97.

The 14-15 200m freestyle gold went to Gauteng’s Ethan Spieker in 1:59.00, followed by Robbie Drummond in 2:08.24 and Ian Brijlal in 2:08.67. The ladies’ gold went to KZN’s Tori Oliver in 2:13.75 ahead of Idele du Toit in 2:14.28 and Stephanie Houtman in 2:17.26.

Free State’s Chloe le Roux walked away with the top spot in the 200m freestyle 13 age group category race in 2:16.79 to Courtney Steyn’s 2:19.04 and Hannah Cromhout’s 2:25.60, while Gauteng’s Janie Coetzer(16) won her respective event in 2:11.98 ahead of Kristen Straszacker in 2:13.16 and Merelda Terblanche in 2:13.76.

In the 50m breaststroke (11-12) Gauteng’s Benke Grobler and Western Cape’s Rafeeq Isaac shared the gold medal in 37.56, while the bronze went to Gustav Bond in 38.94.

In the remaining 50m breaststroke events, the gold medals were scooped up by KZN’s Ozzy Aromin (13) in 34.69, Free State’s Luan de Waal (15) in 31.51, Gauteng’s Michael Deans (16) in 30.28, while the ladies’ first places went to Western Cape’s Leah Christie (12) in 37.01, Gauteng’s Caitlin de Lange (13) in 35.19, North West’s Bianca Opperman (15) in 35.63 and KZN’s Emma Huxtable (16) in 35.28.

Gauteng’s Willem Roos (12), North West’s Pieter Coetze (13) and Mpumalanga’s Giano dos Santos (15) bagged the gold medals in their respective 100m backstroke events in 1:14.24, 1:07.49 and 1:02.68, while the victorious ladies were Free State’s Guilma Lausberg (13), Eastern Cape’s Alexia Velde (14) and Chloe Velde (16) in 1:11.44, 1:10.52 and 1:08.92, respectively.

In the multi-disability section it was the Gauteng Province that led the charge in the 200m individual medley with the gold medals going to Thulane Mabuza (SM10) in 2:50.23 and Pierre Dellieu (SM15) in 2:29.27, while the 50m backstroke title went to David McKlopper (S2) in 1:37.05 and Khabisi Njobe (S15) in 41.34 as well as Karien Oberholzer (15) in 45.92.

In the remaining 50m backstroke races, Mpumalanga’s Shane le Roux (13) won the S14-15 category in 53.69; Limpopo’s Nathan Sruwig (11) was victorious in the S6 in 1:28.28, while on the ladies side, KZN’s Simone Mare (16) won her respective S9 event in 48.63.

The National SA Schools Swimming Championships will continue today with the heats starting at 09h00 and the finals at 15h00 daily.