It’s a beautiful day in the pool for #TeamSA
THE SEEMINGLY ageless Cameron van der Burgh was at the forefront of a brilliant South African performance in the pool at the Commonwealth Games yesterday.
Van der Burgh beat his long-time rival Adam Peaty to claim a hat-trick of 50m Commonwealth Games breaststroke titles and the gold medal. Chad le Clos and Tatjana Schoenmaker also won gold for Team SA.
Van der Burgh made sure he got a lead on Peaty and then fought him off to beat the Briton by 0.04 touching the wall in 26.58 seconds.
“To get the triple as well in the 50m breaststroke, as a Games experience it started eight years ago, and to finish it on such a high something really special,” Van der Burgh said.
“Obviously Adam and I have a really tough rivalry and he has had the upperhand over me the last few years.
“So, to get on top of the podium, if I look back on my career it is going to be one of the highlights.”
In the very next race, Schoenmaker raced to her second gold medal at the quadrennial showpiece by smashing Penny Heyns’ South African and African record clocking 1:06.42.
Schoenmaker shaved 0.1 off the South African legend’s record from 1999. Earlier in the Games she smashed the African 200m breaststroke chopping more than a second off Suzaan van Bijon’s continental record set at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Schoenmaker became the first able-bodied female swimmer since Joan Harrison at the 1954 Vancouver Games to win a gold medal.
“This one hasn’t sunk in yet, I got emotional, but I feel like a lot will still come, probably when I am in my bed when I am about to fall asleep,” Schoenmaker said.
“I definitely exceeded my own expectations, all I wanted to do was to come here and swim a PB which I did, and bonus I got the medal so I am super happy.
“The 200m was my big one, with this one I am just happy that it was half the distance. I was happier about the 200m but the 100m is amazing, I didn’t ever think I would medal in the 100m.”
Le Clos completed South Africa’s gold rush in the pool, bagging the golden butterfly treble adding the 100m title to his haul at the Gold Coast Games.
The South African sensation was again in a class of his own as he smashed into the wall first with a new Commonwealth 100m butterfly record of 50.65 seconds.
He finished ahead of James Guy of England on 50.65 with Australia’s Grant Irvine in 51.50.
Le Clos boasts the gold in the 50m, 100m and the 200m butterfly while he also won the 100m freestyle silver to become the most decorated Commonwealth swimmer with a total of 16 medals.
“It is an amazing evening not only for swimming but also for athletics, we won gold and silver in the 100m on the track (Akani Simbine and Henricho Bruintjies),” Le Clos said.
“Cameron (Van der Burgh) got us started with a win over the world record-holder and Tatjana is the new star in the making.
“It is probably the best night we’ve ever had in Commonwealth history.”
Para-swimmer Christian Sadie added to South Africa’s special day in the pool, winning silver in the S7 50m freestyle.
“There is a lot of tough competition here, I wasn’t too happy with my race. It didn’t go according to plan but I am happy to get this experience,” he said.