Rebecca Meder admitted she was stunned on Thursday night after breaking her own national record in the women’s 200m individual medley final on day two of the SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha.
Meder stopped the clock at 2:10.39, clipping 0.28 off her own national mark which she set in the semifinals at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Her time also ensured she qualified for the World Aquatics Championships to be held in Singapore later this year.
“I’m very surprised with a 2:10.3. We thought at least the 2:11 low, maybe sneak in a 2:10 high, but to break my own SA record and to go a 2:10.3 is mind blowing, so I’m really happy with that,” Meder said afterwards.
Another record surprise for De Villiers
Another SA record fell in the women’s 50m backstroke, with Michaela de Villiers outgunning Jessica Thompson to the gold in a new national mark of 28.25 seconds.
She too admitted she was surprised by her performance.
“I am so happy about it. It’s very exciting, not something I expected so very, very happy,” De Villiers, based in the United States, said after claiming her first senior long course national title.
“I don’t really train backstroke so it’s especially surprising because of that, but it feels really good. I think freestyle training actually kind of relates, so I’m very happy about it.”
World Championships qualifiers
Meanwhile, Matthew Sates won the men’s 200m individual medley final in 1:58.83, also achieving the World Championships qualifying standard as he joined Meder and Pieter Coetze in the national team for the global showpiece.
Over the first two days of the SA Championships, Coetze had qualified in the 50m backstroke (24.56) and 100m backstroke (52.71) events.
