It has been a week since the SA National Short Course Championships took place in Durban, where Team Speedo showed great overall performance, with records broken and PBs smashed. We caught up with our athletes to get all the event scoop, from the results to the emotions and more.
Tatjana Schoenmaker
What did it feel like to be back racing again after months of no swimming events?
It was amazing!! Always love racing, just to see where I am and how my times look in certain seasons. I am definitely not someone who likes racing a lot of gala’s back to back (even though I surprised myself last year) just because I like having a proper training block before each gala.
What was your biggest achievement and what are you most proud of from the event?
Biggest achievement would be breaking SA and African records in my 3 breaststroke events. Definitely proud of the times that I was able to swim after all the COVID-19 setbacks.
What will you be focusing on next?
Probably Regional Champs/ Grand prix - Durban (Olympic qualifier) in December.
Event Results:
3 Gold medals (50,100,200 breast)
1 Silver medal (400 free)
5 Records:
50 Breast (SA record)
100 Breast (SA and African Record)
200 Breast (SA and African Record)
Also very happy with my 400 free event (PB of 7seconds), which really helped me to see where my fitness is at, at the moment.
Matthew Sates
What did it feel like to be back racing again after months of no swimming events?
It was great to be back racing again. We all swim competitively so to race again sure gets the adrenaline going, as well as the fun. It was good to feel that racing feeling again and have the banter and fun that comes with it.
What was your biggest achievement and what are you most proud of from the event?
I was very happy with the events I swam. I achieved most of my times and was very proud to be the CANA Star Performer winning 8 Golds and 1 Bronze. The times have given me an idea of what needs to be done.
What will you be focusing on next?
There is a possibility that KZN Champs will take place in December. We will train for that gala and see how we can improve on the times.
Event Results:
I won 8 golds and 1 bronze from the event.
Anything else, which you would like to add:
I would like to thank Speedo for all that they do for me. I would also like to thank KZN Aquatics and Swimming South Africa for making the gala possible and a special shoutout to the Seals and my coach Wayne Riddin for never giving up on me. I am proud to be part of their team.
Christian Sadie
What did it feel like to be back racing again after months of no swimming events?
It was amazing being back in the pool and in a racing environment, the atmosphere at SA short course was phenomenal. I was a little nervous for my first race but after that everything went smoothly.
What was your biggest achievement and what are you most proud of from the event?
Honestly all my races went really well. I set PBs in all my events which was amazing for me, I didn't expect it. Probably my best event was my 200IM, where the time I posted was a big breakthrough taking off over 5 seconds.
What will you be focusing on next?
For training i will be focusing on threshold training and will also be focusing on adding a few more sessions. For competitions the aim is to race at Western Cape Champs and Durban Grand Prix.
Event Results:
100 Back - 1:12.59
50 Fly - 30.03
50 Free - 28.73
100 Breast - 1:21.78
200 IM - 2:31.64
4 new South African records
Anything else, which you would like to add:
The atmosphere and vibe at SA Short Course was amazing and it was a privilege to have taken part at the gala and see other swimmers achieve their goals.
Rebecca Meder
What did it feel like to be back racing again after months of no swimming events?
It was exciting to be back and racing again. Racing is my favourite part of this sport and I missed it a lot. It was good to see where I was at after all the weeks of training we had to take off due to COVID.
What was your biggest achievement and what are you most proud of from the event?
I was really happy to walk away with 2 World Short Course A qualifying times and 4 B qualifying times. My best swims were my 200IM and my 100IM, where I swam some really quick swims. I was happy to see my progress in my 100 Back. I was really proud of my progress, despite the last few months of training.
What will you be focusing on next?
We start racing in the long course pool next, so focus will be on trying to swim the times I just did short course in, in the long course. I’ll be focusing on trying to qualify for Olympic Games 2021.
Event Results:
*200 IM (1st) - (2:09,76) - A qualifying time
*100 IM (2nd) - (1:00,57) - A qualifying time
400 IM (1st) - (4:44,71) - B qualifying time
400 Free (4th) - (4:10,52) - B qualifying time
200 Free (3rd) - (1:59,46) - B qualifying time
100 Back (1st) - (59,80) - B qualifying time
50 Free (3rd) - (25,72)
Anything else, which you would like to add:
I’m excited to see what I can achieve in the long course pool, as we have done no long course training yet. I was super happy with my swims at the Short Course Champs.
Luca Holtzhausen
What did it feel like to be back racing again after months of no swimming events?
It was really exciting meeting up and racing with friends from around the country again. I had no massive expectations going into the gala, i really just wanted to see where i was, with a couple months of training.
What was your biggest achievement and what are you most proud of from the event?
I was happy with most of my swims such as my 50 Breast, 50 Free, 100 Free and 100 IM. I am extremely proud of myself for getting PBs in all of those events mentioned. I managed to be on my PBs for all my other races, which is really good considering these challenging times, which we are all experiencing.
What will you be focusing on next?
Now that short course is out of the way, it’s time to focus on the long course training and racing. I’m super excited to put a lot of time and effort into the next few months of training for Olympic trials next year April.
Event Results:
*100 IM (3rd) (56.36) pb
*50 Free (5th) (22.87) pb
*100 Free (5th) (49.60) pb
*200 Free (5th) (1.49.83)
*200 IM (7th) ( 2.04)
*50 Breast (7th) (28.81) pb
Martin Binedell
What did it feel like to be back racing again after months of no swimming events?
Was great, but tough at the same time. Dealing with the excitement and anxiety of racing is something i haven’t done in so long, so to be back was, although an adjustment, much needed.
What was your biggest achievement and what are you most proud of from the event?
My biggest achievement and goal for this gala was on the process of how I raced. Being close to PBs and swimming my races with the stroke, starts, underwater’s and splits i wanted and after being out of training for so long, i put out a great foundation to build on for next year.
What will you be focusing on next?
My focus now moves to long course and Olympic qualification.
Event Results:
200m Back - 1st- 1:54.14
100m Back - 2nd- 54.04
50m Free - 4th- 22.76