Competition was very stiff as the young charges showcased their talent and strived for excellence.
Mzansi’s Mariella Venter made the semi-finals of the 100m backstroke but only managed a 15th place finish in the race with a time of 1:02.15. KZN’s Hannah Mclean-Leonard came in 50th in the heats session of the event in 1:11.21.
In the remaining results from the morning heats, Jarryd Baxter came close to qualifying for the 400m freestyle finals when he concluded the race in 11th place with a time of 3:54.95, ahead of teammate Matthew Meyer in 28th position with a time of 3:59.82.
Baxter will be in action tomorrow in the 200m individual medley and the 200m freestyle.
Ude Fuchs swam the 100m backstroke, where he finished in 37th place with a time of 58.54 and later on raced the 100m breaststroke, ending 24th in 1:04.65.
Dayne Odendaal was 49th in the 100m backstroke in 1:00.40, while Daniel Swanepoel was 30th in the 100m breaststroke in 1:05.40.
On the ladies side, Jade Neser finished 19th in the 50m breaststroke, clocking 33.04, while Erin Anderson was 32nd in 34.64.
In the 400m individual medley, Carmen le Roux came in 22nd place with a time of 5:00.09 and Kate Beavon managed a 27th place finish in 5:02.49.
Kyle van Niekerk, Odendaal, Fuchs and Joshua Dannhauser ended the 4 x 100m freestyle relay race in 15th place with a time of 3:31.68.
“Events of this nature provide an excellent platform for our young athletes to compete against the best in the world and gain much needed international racing experience against tough opposition” said Shaun Adriaanse, CEO of Swimming SA.
The second day of the 5th FINA World Junior Championships will feature Odendaal in the 200m individual medley and 100m butterfly, Neser and Mclean-Leonard in the 100m freestyle, Le Roux in the 200m butterfly, Fuchs in the 100m butterfly and Van Niekerk in the 200m freestyle.
Swimming news courtesy of Swimming South Africa.