Other Sport
SA champs boasts strong field
2011-04-08 14:00
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Cameron van der Burgh (Gallo)
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Johannesburg - Leading South African swimmers will converge on the Newton Park Swimming Pool for the National Championships in Port Elizabeth from April 11 to 16.
The sprint freestyle events will draw the biggest crowds and it will be left to a duel between Gideon Louw and Graeme Moore in the 100m , while Roland Schoeman and Darian Townsend cannot be written off in a close finish.
Schoeman will always be the champion to topple in the 50m dash as Louw and Moore challenge.
The men's 400m freestyle also boasts a strong lineup. Stalwart Jean Basson, who specialises more over the 200m, will have to produce something special to regain the number one spot from Mark Randall, but a man closing in over this distance is Heerden Herman who specialises over the 1500m freestyle.
Others who could come into contention are Riaan Schoeman, Jay-Cee Thomson and Myles Brown while open water swimming specialist Chad Ho certainly has enough speed to be dangerous.
In the breaststroke events, Cameron van der Burgh, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, will be the favourite in the 50m and 100m.
The butterfly events will provide more excitement as Schoeman aims to keep his 50m title, but the 100m race is up for grabs with the younger Chad le Clos leading the field after strong results in 2010.
Among the women, there will be tremendous interest in the return of the Suzaan van Biljon in the breaststroke events. While the 50m is her preferred distance, van Biljon gets stronger after at least one turn and should put a lot of pressure on the 100m and 200m hopefuls.
Ronwyn Roper heads the 100m breaststroke along with Kathryn Meaklim , and both will feature in the 200m.
Vanessa Mohr riding high at the moment, especially in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly where she will be the one to beat.
The championships will also serve as trials for the World Championships taking place in Shanghai, China from July 19 to 23.