By Adnaan Mohamed
Hannah Pearse’s (pictured above) long-held dream finally surfaced on the final night of the Bombela Concession Company SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha, while Pieter Coetzé stamped his authority with a flawless golden campaign.
Pearse delivered when it mattered most, powering to victory in the 200m backstroke in 2:10.92 to secure the Commonwealth Games qualifying time. The 23-year-old could not contain her emotions after touching the wall, her journey over the past year culminating in a moment of release.
“It’s surreal. It’s a big dream, so I can’t believe the dream finally came true,” said the neurophysiology honours student.
“I knew I had it in me, but I wasn’t sure. It’s been a rough year with lots of ups and downs. So the belief was there, but it was a deep-down belief and we had to really dig deep to find it.”
While Pearse celebrated a breakthrough, Coetzé continued to underline his status as South Africa’s leading male swimmer at the championships. The 21-year-old completed a five-from-five record, claiming his fifth title in the 200m backstroke in 1:55.26.
Having eased through the morning heats, Coetzé sharpened his pace in the final, though he admitted there is still room for improvement.
“I used to swim this race very back-end based, and I want to get my body used to going out a bit faster… I would have liked to go out a bit faster than that, but it’s okay,” he said.
Reflecting on his overall performance, he added: “This is only my second meet in about nine months. So I think it’s a great base and I’ve got about two months now to go back to work and make sure I put in a good performance at Commonwealth.”
In the sprint events, Erin Gallagher and Caitlin de Lange ensured a double qualifying performance in the 50m butterfly. Both swimmers dipped under the required mark in the heats and repeated the feat in the final, where Gallagher took gold in 25.63 and De Lange secured silver in 25.98.
“It was always going to be close. It’s all about the start and the finish and timing everything perfectly,” said Gallagher.
“You never really know what to expect, and it’s always great when it pays off. But it’s a splash and dash. You don’t have much time to think, you kind of just close your eyes and go for it.”
De Lange echoed those sentiments. “The 50 is always such a hit-or-miss. From the start you either feel so great or so bad, and you just ride along with it. But that was a really fun race.”
One of the standout stories of the night came from Calvyn Justus, who marked his return from a serious back injury with victory in the 50m butterfly. The 30-year-old edged Chad le Clos by 0.01 seconds, winning in 23.68 for his first national title in a decade.
“The butterfly’s still so new to me. I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like yet… That was only the second time I’ve ever done it, so it’s still pretty foreign to me and I think I need a lot more work in cleaning up. But we’ll take it, a win’s a win,” said Justus.
“I had a ton of fun racing Chad. I grew up with him so it’s kind of like a full circle moment. I think that was a special way to come back to South Africa.”
Elsewhere, Matthew Caldwell completed a clean sweep of the distance freestyle events, adding the 400m title in 3:53.02 to his earlier wins in the 800m and 1500m. Duné Coetzee successfully defended her 400m freestyle crown in 4:11.35.
In total, 13 swimmers achieved Commonwealth Games qualifying times across the championships.
Coetzé led the men with five titles and qualifying swims, while Aimee Canny topped the women’s standings with four gold medals and qualifying performances.
Commonwealth Games Qualifiers (Team Sheet)
- Aimee Canny: 200m freestyle, 100m, 200m breaststroke, 200m individual medley
- Pieter Coetzé: 50m, 100m & 200m backstroke; 50m & 100m freestyle
- Kaylene Corbett: 200m breaststroke
- Caitlin de Lange: 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly
- Erin Gallagher: 50m & 100m butterfly
- Michael Houlie: 50m breaststroke
- Calvyn Justus: 50m freestyle
- Rebecca Meder: 200m individual medley
- Hannah Pearse: 200m backstroke
- Chris Smith: 50m breaststroke
- Jessica Thompson: 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle
- Lara van Niekerk: 50m breaststroke
- Ruard van Renen: 50m & 100m backstroke