Two South African records broken as Meder and Sates qualify for World Championships

The second day of the SA National Swimming Championships in Gqeberha brought a wave of standout performances, with two more swimmers securing their spots for the World Championships in Singapore later this year.

Rebecca-Meder and Matt Sates joined Pieter Coetzé on the growing list of qualifiers, with Meder and Michaela de Villiers also breaking South African records in the process.

Meder was the star of the morning session, storming to victory in the women’s 200m individual medley with a time of 2:10.39 shaving off nearly three-tenths of a second from her own national record of 2:10.67 set at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. “I will say I'm very surprised with a 2:10.3. We thought at least the 2:11 low, maybe sneak in a 2:10 high, but to break my own SA record and to go a 2:10.3 is mind blowing, so I’m really happy with that,” said Meder.

Another major surprise came in the women’s 50m backstroke, where Michaela de Villiers edged out Jessica Thompson for the national title. De Villiers touched the wall in 28.25 seconds, setting a new SA record in the process. "I am so happy about it. It's very exciting, not something I expected so very, very happy,”  said de Villiers 

“I don't really train backstroke so it’s especially surprising because of that, but it feels really good. I think freestyle training actually kind of relates, so I’m very happy about it,” added the Louisiana-based swimmer.

Matt Sates marked his return to form with a confident swim in the men’s 200m individual medley, stopping the clock at 1:58.83 to secure his place at the World Championships.

“It's nice going close to my best times again. A nice relief to do it, to qualify for worlds is always nice, because it’s every swimmer’s goal to do it, and so it’s a privilege to go.” said Sates. He later added to his medal haul, claiming the 200m butterfly title in 1:57.71.

Meanwhile, Pieter Coetzé  continued to impress after a sensational start to the championships. He notched up two qualifying times in the men’s 50m backstroke, recording 24.56 seconds in the heats and 24.78 seconds in the final, enough to secure the win, though not quite the time he had hoped for.

“I think I'm happy to get the win and to qualify, but it would have been nice to go a bit faster tonight, especially because I went faster in the morning so you always want to cut down some time between the morning and the afternoon, but I'm happy with it,” said Coetzé

Looking ahead, Coetzé hinted at a possible shift in training focus following the inclusion of all 50m events in the 2028 LA Olympic Games programme. “When I was younger, sprinting was more my thing, and when I joined Rocco [Meiring] we did a bit more mileage so I became a bit more of a 200 swimmer,” he explained.

“It's very tempting now to go back to sprint training and focus on maybe 50 free, and 50 and 100 back. I was just trying to get my mind off the news and focus on the task at hand first, and then after this week I’ll chat to my coach and maybe we'll make a change,” said Coetzé

The evening also saw several Para-swimmers make history. Naseerah du Toit bettered her own national record from the heats in the S8 100m butterfly, clocking 1:47.38 in the final. Christian Sadie shaved 0.03 seconds off his previous best from the 2024 Paralympics with a time of 28.72 in the S7 50m freestyle, while James Willers set a new SA record in the S10 200m butterfly with a 2:43.51.

The championships continue at the Newton Park Swimming Pool until Sunday, with more athletes eyeing their chance to shine on the national and global stage.

IOL Sport