Schoeman lauds splash in pool
CONCERN: ‘AMONG THE MEN WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO’
Wesley Bo on
Though he was delighted to see a resurgence by South African women, and he lauded the team’s all-round performance in the pool, swimming icon Roland Schoeman says the country’s elite men have some work to do after the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
While the women’s contingent contributed only two of the nation’s 12 swimming medals at the quadrennial showpiece, breaststroke specialist Tatjana Schoenmaker won double gold to become the first SA woman in eight years to step on the aquatics podium.
No South African women competed in the pool at the 2015 World Championships or the 2016 Rio Olympics, and there were no finalists at last year’s global championships.
The Gold Coast spectacle was a turning point, however, with Erin Gallagher, Kate Beavon, Emily Visagie and Kaylene Corbett all reaching finals in their respective events.
“I was excited to see the swim team do so well,” Schoeman said this week.
“I was incredibly encouraged to see the performances of Tatjana and Erin. Female swimmers in South Africa are in desperate need of role models they can look up to and identify with.”
Schoeman, a triple Olympic medallist who earned 12 Commonwealth medals between 2002 and 2014, felt the men were performing well, but he was concerned about a lack of depth.
Five SA men – Chad le Clos, Cameron van der Burgh, Brad Tandy, Christian Sadie and Ryan Coetzee – stepped on the Gold Coast podium in individual events, and five other men reached finals, but Schoeman believed they had more potential than the nation had displayed.
“With all the positive growth and performances I’d really like to see greater depth in our male swimming,” he said.
“At a point we had three swimmers ranked in the top 10 in the 100m free. Our 4x100 free relay was such a strong group for us and I’d like to see us get back there.”