Tatjana Schoenmaker Triple Landed With Fourth African Breaststroke Record In Three Days – 1:05.74 in Gqeberha
Tatjana Schoenmaker not only made it a sweep of breaststroke titles on the fifth day of the SA National Aquatic Championships in Gqeberha this evening but the triple was delivered in a fourth African record time, 1:05.74 in the 100m.
Needless to say, that’s a third Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualification time, too, and it shed 0.15secs off the standard she set at the 2019 World Championships. There was no race for gold but there were solid swims behind Tatjana Schoenmaker, 17-year-old Lara van Niekerk second 1:07.40, 200m Olympic qualifier Kaylene Corbett third in 1:08.88.
Tatjana Schoenmaker clocked 2:20.17 in the 200m yesterday after having given warning of peak form with two African records in the 50m breaststroke – 30.42 in heats, 30.32 in the final – the day before and a 2:22.26 in the 200m heats.
Boasting the 7th fastest time ever in the 200m, just beyond the 2:20 barrier cleared by five women, Schoenmaker was more than six seconds clear in the 200m and had no-one to press her in any of her races this week.
Schoenmaker first came to international prominence with a silver over 200m at the Universiade in Taipei back in 2017.
A year later at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia, she struck the double with victories in the 100 and 200m. Then came the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, where she claimed silver in the 200m.
Chad le Clos claimed his third win of the meet, with a 52.13 in the 100m butterfly ahead of Matthew Sates, 52.15, and another already on the Tokyo team, Ethan du Preez, on 53.28.