Coetzé and Canny dominate in Gqeberha as 13 seal Commonwealth spots

Hannah Pearse became the final addition to the Commonwealth Games qualifying list on the final day of the SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha on Saturday.

The 23-year-old swam to victory in the 200m backstroke in a time of 2:10.92 to take a step closer to achieving her ambition of competing at the Commonwealth Games, which take place in Glasgow this July/August.

“It’s surreal. It’s a big dream, so I can’t believe the dream finally came true,” said the neurophysiology honours student after the race. “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.”

Also securing a comfortable victory in the 200m backstroke was fellow Pretoria swimmer Pieter Coetzé. The 21-year-old was considerably faster in the final, taking his fifth individual win of the championships in 1:55.26.

“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,” said Coetzé.

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As for his overall performance in Gqeberha, where he achieved Commonwealth Games qualifying times in all five of his events, Coetzé 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.”

“It was always going to be close. It’s all about the start and the finish and timing everything perfectly,” explained Erin Gallagher, who also won the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle titles at these championships. “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.”

Adonne de Lange agreed: “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.”

A total of 13 swimmers achieved Commonwealth Games qualifying times at the Bombela Concession Company SA Swimming Championships.

Pieter Coetzé: Emerged as the standout male swimmer with five titles and matching qualifying marks.

Aimee Canny: Led the women’s contingent with four titles and qualifying performances.