South African swimmers won 11 medals in the pool on Wednesday, bringing their total haul of swimming medals to 34.
Karin Prinsloo now has four gold medals, since she was part of the 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay team that won Wednesday’s final. Earlier in the week, she had won gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre freestyle and the 50 metre backstroke.
She came close to winning a fifth gold in the 100 metres backstroke, but was narrowly defeated by the African record holder, Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry.
Coventry won in a time of 1:00.86. Prinsloo was less than a second behind her on 1:01.46. The Algerian Amel Melih won the bronze in 1:07.27.
In the women’s 400 metre freestyle, South Africans Roxanne Tammadge and Rene D’Warnes won the gold and bronze medals, in times of 4:19.73 and 4:21.58. The silver went to Tunisia’s Sara Lajnef, in 4:20.75.
In the 50 metre breaststroke, Suzaan van Biljon won her second gold of the tournament in a time of 32.88 seconds. In second and third positions were Miryan Corsine of Mozambique (33.74), and Racheal Tonjor of Nigeria (33.81).
In the men’s 100 metre freestyle, it was two Kenyan athletes, David Dunford and his brother Jason who won silver and gold, in times of 49.48 and 49.71 seconds. South African Gideon Louw was just behind them on 48.80.
Jason Dunford also took gold in the 50 metre butterfly, in a time of 23.57. South Africans Neil Watson and Garth Tunes claimed silver and bronze with times of 24.31 and 24.70 seconds.
In the 200 metres backstroke South Africans Darren Murray and Charl Crous came first and second in times of 2:01.74 and 2:01.88. Tunisian Taki Mrabet took the bronze in 2:05.19.
The South Africans also picked up gold in the men’s 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay in a time of 7:33.63, followed by Algeria (7:49.59) and Kenya (8:01.07).
Post published in: Sport