Van der Burgh through to final as Peaty soars

Rio de Janeiro - South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh will defend his Olympic crown in the 100m Breaststroke in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. 

The 28-year-old finished third in his semi-final on Saturday night (Sunday morning, SA time) to secure his place in a final that looks certain to be dominated by Britain's Adam Peaty.

Peaty set a new world record in the heats in Saturday's early session (57:55) and he followed that up with another win in the semis (57:62) to finish ahead of America's Cody Miller (59:05) and Van der Burgh (59:21).

Those three were quicker than anyone in the other semi-final, meaning that Van der Burgh goes into Sunday's final as the third fastest qualifier. 

The good news is that he improved on the time he set in the afternoon heats (59:21). 

Lloyd Burnard is Sport24's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro for the duration of the 2016 Olympics ...