Le Clos, Van der Burgh set for Bloem
Continental swimmers invasion … Swimmer from across the continent will compete in Bloemfontein next week, including South Africa’s Olympic medallist, Chad le Clos (pictured)
The SA duo will take on Africa’s cream of the crop in what promises to be a scintillating event in the City of Roses
Olympic medallists Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh will be vying for more medals in Bloemfontein at the looming 12th edition of the Confederation Africaine de Natation Amateur (CANA) African Swimming Championships which are set to take place in Bloemfontein from October 16 to 23.
The continental event, which will be hosted by Swimming South Africa in conjunction with the Free State provincial government and the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, will also see swimmers from over 23 countries descend upon the provincial capital and converge at the Stadium Swimming Pool in pursuit of continental glory.
The competition kicks off with pool events on October 16 and concludes with the 5 km Open Water Swimming race on October 23 at the Maselspoort Resort dam on the outskirts of Bloemfontein.
Le Clos and Van der Burgh will be flying the South African high in the men’s division alongside the likes Myles Brown as well as rising talents Douglas Erasmus and Jarred Crous. The South African Swimming Team has dominated the event in previous years, having topped the medal table in 2010 and 2012.
Algeria’s bronze medallist in the 200m butterfly race at the 2016 Geneva International Challenge, Lounis Khendriche, will be looking forward to take on Le Clos, while James Lawson of Zimbabwe will take on Van der Burgh in the 100m breaststroke. Lawson currently holds Zimbabwe’s national record in the latter category.
The South African ladies side will feature Nathania van Niekerk, Rebecca Meder and Hanim Abrahams in the pool events, while Michelle Weber and Carmen le Roux will represent SA in the Open Water race which will take place at Maselspoort Resort just outside Bloemfontein.
The South African ladies will compete with – amongst others – Angola’s Ana Nobrega, a formidable swimmer who holds her native country’s respective records in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, as well as in the 50m and 100m freestyle. Nobrega broke the latter record in Brazil last month at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Another swimmer to look forward to watching in the female showdowns is none other than Algeria’s Amel Melih and Souad Nefissa Cherouati. Melih holding the national records in the 50 and 100m backstroke.
The heats will begin at 10h00, while the finals will start at 16:00 daily.
In the Open Water contests South Africa’s Michelle Weber, who impressed in the 10km Marathon Swimming event at Copacabana during the August spectacle. Weber has matured significantly since her return to the sport from a short illness and is favoured to produce a command performance at Maselspoort.
The top male athlete is stalwart Danie Marais, the current South African 5km champion who won the title at the 2016 SA National Open Water Swimming Championships in Grabouw in March.
Marais has produced some impressive performances in the pool this past season and the fast Maselspoort course will certainly be a good “hit out” for him to push the boundaries early in the season.
Carman Le Roux and Michael McGlynn will join their illustrious team mates when the field lines up at 11:30 (Men’s 5km event) and 11:35 (Ladies 5km event) on Sunday morning for the culmination of what is shaping up to be an exciting event to be hosted in Mangaung, Free State. Both are accomplished athletes who finished runners up at the 2016 South African National Open Water Swimming Championships. The Open Water races will take place from 08:00 on Sunday, October 23, at the Maselspoort dam.
The organisers are also hosting five extra recreational events that will enable the Free State Open Water swimming fraternity to participate.
Matters get underway with four 1km events that will commence at 08:30 on the day of the Open Water showdowns. The 1km rectangular course will see a number of clubs and schools compete and use it as an opportunity to form part of this historical event.
The day will conclude with a 400m fun swim which is aimed at the novice Open Water swimmers who are still coming to grips with this unique swimming discipline. Local coaches are to this extent encouraged to include the swim in their weeks work out as to ensure that swimmers get to experience and joys of Open Water swimming.
Medals will be awarded to all finishers. Entry fees for the 1km races are R100 and R75 for the 400m fun swim.
Leading up to the championships SSA, the provincial Government as well as the Mangaung Metro also joined forces in a Learn to Swim community outreach programme which took place from October 3 to 5 at the Bloemanda Swimming Pool in Bloemanda.
