Le Clos wins but fails to make Commonwealth cut
Daily Dispatch
@Dispatch_DD CHAD Le Clos bagged crown number two at the SA championships in Durban last night, winning the 200m freestyle in a race that failed to deliver the anticipated fast times.
Le Clos clocked 1min 48.43sec, missing out by 100th of a second on qualifying for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3.
Training partner Myles Brown was second in 1:49.31, ahead of Dylan Bosch (1:49.36) and Calvyn Justus (1:49.56).
“It was a lot slower than I thought,” said a disappointed Le Clos. “We were all a bit tentative to go. I had thought four of us would get the time.”
His bid to win a record eight titles could end tonight in the 50m butterfly final where he takes on wily sprint ace Roland Schoeman.
In last night’s semifinals Schoeman, 33, cracked the world’s fastest time so far this year, an effort of 23.07s that left his nearest competitors more than half a body length in his wake. Le Clos won the other semifinal in 24.42s. Schoeman is a racehorse with a terrifying burst of speed at the start, and he will look to blow away his rival early on, but if Le Clos is in striking distance at the finish, that could be lethal.
Making Le Clos’ task more difficult is his schedule tonight. He is expected to compete in the 200m backstroke final and the 100 freestyle semifinal, as well as those heats in the morning.
Gerhard Zandberg won the 14th 50m backstroke title of his career. He has never lost this event at a national gala.
If SA had a fast 100m backstroker to complement Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh, they could field a worldbeating 4x100m medley relay team. Asked how he would respond if he were asked to take the 100m race seriously, Zandberg replied: “I could.
“I will need some form of motivation – not cash, but something. For the benefit of the team, definitely.”
In other action, Van der Burgh (100m breaststroke) and Karin Prinsloo (100m backstroke and 100m freestyle) cruised into tonight’s finals.