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Schoeman, Loots shine
20/11/2004 21:28 - (SA)
Durban - Mandy Loots was in record-breaking form while Roland Schoeman, with his buoyant style of swimming, was mercurial for victory against his rival Ryk Neethling in the 50m freestyle at the Final World Cup meeting in Durban on Saturday night.
Loots, showing the best form of her life, bounced back from missing selection to Athens with her fifth national record of the showpiece after she swam 2:13.06 for the individual medley win. This beat her record of 2:14.95sec in the morning heats and eclipsed Julia Russel's 2:15.15 record set in 1997.
In an explosive 50m, Schoeman's lightning start got him to the front for the turn and he was unchallenged at the finish in 21.61sec with Neethling touching at 21.83 ahead of Brazil's Nicholas Santos (22.02).
This follows his 100m free victory against Neethling on Friday night.
"Another day at the office," smiled Schoeman after his third victory of the event. "I struggled with butterfly rhythm so I withdrew to keep sharp for the 50m free. Last year we won 13 medals, in this World Cup event and at the moment 11 feels safe. But we're aiming to get more."
Neethling, who anchored the SA team to the 4x100 world record victory at the Athens Olympics, said his power was there, but he lacked the speed to beat Schoeman in his current form. "We've competed against one another for five years," he said. "We'll compete for another five."
Ecstatic
Loots was ecstatic with her win. "It's really nice to win gold in my home country," she said. "But I'm really happy for my Gauteng team-mate Clare (Archibald). She's still a junior and this is her first major win. I'm excited to be back racing again. I want to race." Earlier, Loots swam to second in the 200 butterfly with 2:08.90 behind Slovak Martina Moravcova (2:06.63).
She also swam 4:39.61 for third in the 400m individual medley and 26.89sec for bronze in the 50m butterfly, both new national marks, on the opening day of World Cup action on Friday.
Archibald pulled off a superb late finish for a surprise personal best 32.43 win in the 50m breaststroke ahead of Briton Alison Shephard (32.46) and Tammy Laubscher (32.47), which was also a PB.
World record holder Ed Moses of America dominated the 200 breaststroke from the start for victory in 2:05.53, while world champion Thomas Rupprath of Germany won his 100m butterfly in 51.11.
- SAPA
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