Schoeman shakes off bug
2006-03-20 07:21
Melbourne - Roland Schoeman, struggling
with a flu bug, salvaged pride by setting the pace in men's 50m freestyle heats at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.
The South African, who had faded badly to finish with a
bronze in the 100m final on Sunday, clocked 22.47 seconds with
team mate Ryk Neethling fifth quickest in 22.80.
"I'm feeling like death," Schoeman, the 50m world champion,
told reporters.
Schoeman and Neethling took gold in the men's 4x100m relay
and Schoeman won the 50m butterfly title but both have been
below after several of South Africa's athletes caught flu.
Welshman David Davies set the quickest time before
Tuesday's final of the men's 1 500m freestyle in 15 minutes
21.60 seconds, almost 13 seconds faster than South Africa's
Hercules Prinsloo.
Davies was third behind Grant Hackett at the 2004 Olympics
and last year's world championships but is a short-odds
favourite to win gold in Melbourne in the Australian's absence.
Gold for Davies would snap an Australian winning run in
swimming's 'iron man' event at the Commonwealth Games dating
back to 1954.
Golden treble
England's Joanne Jackson qualified quickest for the women's
400m freestyle final in 4:11.77.
Scotland's Caitlin McClatchey, aiming to add the 400m title
to the 200m gold she won on the opening night, was second
fastest in 4:12.35 later on the penultimate day of the six-day
Commonwealth games swimming competition.
"I'm feeling a bit run down but I'm putting it aside for
the race," McClatchey said.
Fellow Scot David Carry kept his bid for a golden treble
alive by qualifying eighth fastest for the men's 200m
individual medley final in 2:05.04.
Carry won the 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley.
New Zealand's Dean Kent was quickest in the 200m medley in
2:02.65.
Australia's Joanna Fargus was quickest in the women's 200m
backstroke in 2:10.84.