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Cape Town - South Africa claimed silver at the Royal Life Saving (RLSS) Commonwealth Festival of Lifesaving Championships in Durban.
Australia won the Still Water Lifesaving Commonwealth's National Elite Championship and also the Commonwealth Development Team Championship.
The winners on Saturday were made to fight all the way for gold in the prestigious National Elite Championships, with South Africa almost overhauling a 17-point team deficit on Saturday's second and final day.
Australia and South Africa were comfortably stronger than the rest of the field on day one and the two continued the two-horse race for supremacy until the final events of an action packed two days of Still Water Lifesaving competition at its best.
The Australians (332) won by just four points from South Africa (328).
England (262) were a distant third followed by Hong Kong, Canada and Scotland.
Australia also won the Development Team title with England and South Africa’s President’s squad second and third respectively.
Lifesaving South Africa President Dylan Tommy said he was delighted with the overall standard of the South African squad and that the organization of the event had reinforced South Africa’s standing within the global Lifesaving Community.
‘It’s been a very successful week for Lifesaving. The drowning prevention workshops, which included several African countries, were extremely important and we were also treated to a quality Commonwealth Championship, in which we so much skill, commitment and passion from the athletes.
‘It was particularly pleasing to see the overall performance of South Africa,’ said Tommy. ‘But it also shows the class of Australia that they still triumphed.
The Development Championship ran concurrent with the main event and featured lifeguards without previous competitive international event experience.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Natalie Billson was at the forefront of the Development Team’s performance while her siblings Carmel and Lauren Billson were part of the National Elite squad. Dylan Bridger enjoyed a very good Development Championship, as did Bianca Opperman and Dehanke van Rensburg.
(Carmel) Billson, the General Tire/Lifesaving South Africa National Women’s Champion and also Lifesaving’s 2017 South African Female Athlete of the Year, was prominent without ever being able to match the dominance and presence of Australia’s best.
(Carmel) Billson was third in the Women’s 100m Manikin Carry and Fins, with Australia’s Prue Davis and Pamela Hendry first and second respectively.
South Africa’s Martin Binedell finished second to England’s Sam Lawman in the Men’s 50 metres Manikin Carry. South Africa’s Johan Lourens was third.
Binedell, the South Africa and Africa 200m backstroke swimming champion, won the Men’s 50 metres swim and non-contact tow and also excelled in the relay.
Overall Team Standings
National Teams
1. Australia
2. South Africa
3. England
4. Hong Kong
5. Canada
6. Scotland
Development Teams
1. Australia
2. England
3. South Africa
4. Scotland
5. Mauritius
Selected results featuring South Africa
National Teams
Men 50m Swim and non-contact tow
1. Martin Binedell – RSA
2. Samuel Bell – AUS
3. Johan Lourens – RSA
Women Line Throw
1. Winnie Wong – HK
2. Sarah Laurence-Morin – CAN
3. Chrislin Nieuwoudt – RSA
Men Line Throw
1. Mitchell Parkes – AUS
2. Tsz Chun Leung –HK
3. Milan Erasmus – RSA
Women 100m Lifesaving Medley
1. Pamela Hendry – AUS
2. Kristin Bellingan – RSA
3. Manuelle Charbonneau - CAN
Men 100m Lifesaving Medley
1. Jake Smith – AUS
2. Martin Binedell – RSA
3. Johan Lourens – RSA
Women 50m Manikin Carry
1. Mariah Jones – AUS
2. Samantha Howe – AUS
3. Kristin Bellingan - RSA
Men 50m Manikin Carry
1. Sam Lawman – ENG
2. Martin Binedell – RSA
3. Andrew Morley – ENG
Women 100m Manikin Carry with fins
1. Prue Davies – AUS
2. Pamela Hendry – AUS
3. Carmel Billson – RSA
Men 100m Manikin Carry with fins
1. Samuel Bell – AUS
2. Johan Lourens – RSA
3. Ricardo Peach – RSA
Women 4 x 25m Manikin Relay
1. Australia
2. South Africa (Kristin Bellingan, Carmel Billson, Lauren Billson, Chrislin Nieuwoudt)
3. Hong Kong
Men 4 x 25m Manikin Relay
1. Australia
2. South Africa (Martin Binedell, Ricardo Peach, Brandon Isemonger & Johan Lourens)
3. England
Development Teams
Women 50m Manikin Carry
1. Madison Howe – AUS
2. Sulinke van den Berg – RSA
3. Bianca Opperman – RSA
Men 50m Manikin Carry
1. James Blaby – ENG
2. Calvin Coetzee – RSA
3. Martin Schofield – ENG
Women 100m Manikin Carry with fins
1. Anthea Warne – AUS
2. Rachel Eddy – AUS
3. Natalie Billson – RSA
Men 100m Manikin Carry with fins
1. Adam Threlfall - ENG
2. Sam Kirkland – ENG
3. Dylan Bridger – RSA
Women 4 x 25m Manikin Relay
1. Australia
2. South Africa (Sulinke van den Berg, Bianca Opperman, Natalie Billson & Dehanke van Rensburg)
3. England
Men 4 x 25m Manikin Relay
1. England
2. Australia
3. South Africa (Dylan Bridger, Calvin Coetzee, Mark Kleinhans & Kurt Rautenbach)
*The following results are for the Festival of Lifesaving and are individual events which do not count towards the points score
Development Teams
Women 50m Swim and non-contact tow
1. Dehanke van Rensburg - RSA
2. Natalie Billson - RSA
3. Bianca Opperman – RSA
Men 50m Swim and non-contact tow
1. Dylan Bridger – RSA
2. Martin Schofield – ENG
3. Sam Kirkland – ENG
Women Wet SERC (Simulated Emergency Rescue Competitions)
1. Natalie Billson – RSA
2. Beth Chandler – ENG
3. Anthea Warne – AUS
Men Wet SERC (Simulated Emergency Rescue Competitions)
1. Brandon Smith – AUS
2. Dylan Bridger – RSA
3. Callum Lowe-Griffiths – AUS
Women 100m Lifesaving Medley
1. Bianca Opperman – RSA
2. Sulinke van den Berg – RSA
3. Deborah Dredge – RSA
General Tire/Lifesaving SA rescues more than 3000 people annually. Help save more lives and SMS “Watersmart” to 49026 and donate R15 to Drowning Prevention Education. General Tire in 2017 became the first mainline sponsor of Lifesaving South Africa.
