Depleted Team SA wrap up world short course champs campaign
Image: Francois Nel/ GETTY IMAGES
The SA team’s campaign at the World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi came to an end on Monday with Chad le Clos, Brad Tandy and Tayla Lovemore not progressing past their respective heats.
Le Clos, who claimed bronze in the 100m freestyle in 2018, finished fifth in his morning heat of the same event in a time of 47.83.
That meant he was 23rd fastest overall and missed out on the next round.
Tandy just missed out on a spot in the 50m breaststroke semifinals by four hundredths of a second. He finished fifth in his heat in 26.85 and 17th overall, with only the top 16 swimmers going through.
Lovemore was ninth in her 100m butterfly heat in 1:00.20 to finish 28th overall.
In the absence of Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker, recently crowned World Cup Series winner Matt Sates, and several other top contenders who weren’t able to compete in Abu Dhabi because of the Covid-19-induced travel ban, it was up to Le Clos to ensure that SA continued their medal-winning run at the championships.
His silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 200m butterfly extended the country’s successful run in the 25m pool, having featured on the medal table at every World Short Course Championships since 2006.