Roland Schoeman wins Men’s 50m freestyle semi-finals: Day six - South African LC Nationals
Roland Schoeman of NTS-NT won the semi-finals of Men’s 50m freestyle on sixth day of the South African Long Course Nationals at the KZN Aquatic-Kings Park Centre in Durban on Saturday, April 21.
The 31-year-old Schoeman proved his mettle for the top qualification spot of the race and qualified into the playoff as strong contender for gold medal.
With his stupendous efforts in the single lap freestyle event, Schoeman is just one-step away from securing his spot in the South African squad to the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Schoeman demonstrated his gruelling efforts in the one-lap event as he sprinted his way towards the finishing end for first position by posting a time of 22.08 seconds.
His notable effort was trailed by Brad E Tandy of KZNA-KZ, who stayed 0.43 seconds slower from him and tapped the wall with the timing of 22.51 seconds.
The 20-year-old Tandy was chased by Schoeman’s teammate, Gideon A Louw, who suffered a deficit of 0.08 seconds from his foregoing finisher and surfaced on the finishing end as third best finisher with the timing of 22.59 seconds.
The 24-year-old Louw was trailed by Graeme J Moore of CGA-CG, who occupied fourth position of the discipline as he touched the wall with the timing of 23.04 seconds.
Moore was followed by Gregory Widmer of NTS-NT, who remained just 0.05 seconds behind and hit the finishing blockade with the timing of 23.09 seconds.
The 25-year-old Widmer was chased by Reynard Wessels of Fsa-FS, who earned sixth best qualifying position of the discipline and ended his swim in a time of 23.13 seconds.
Similarly, Wessels was followed by Brett H Walsh of KZNA-KZ, who stayed 0.10 seconds behind and completed his race in a time of 23.23 seconds for seventh best qualifying position.
The last qualification spot of the race was secured by Leith Shankland, who remained 0.05 seconds slower and posted a time of 23.28 seconds for eighth position.
Furthermore, these finalists will race each other in the playoff of the 50m event where the top two finishers will confirm their place in South African team to London.
Tags: