Golden double in sight for SA pair

Olympic stars Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos could push South African swimming into an unprecedented golden era at the world championships in Barcelona tonight.

Van der Burgh yesterday twice flirted with his own 50m breaststroke world record, in the heats and semifinals, and then Le Clos went fastest in the 200m butterfly.

Never before has South Africa bagged two gold medals in the pool on a single day of a major gala, but that could change in Barcelona tonight.

Le Clos again used his trademark late finish to snatch victory in the first semifinal last night, edging China's Wu Peng by nine-hundredths of a second.

And the cheeky smile he flashed as he exited the pool suggested his race had gone according to plan - and that there's probably more in the tank.

Le Clos, who beat Michael Phelps in this race at the London 2012 Games, is now looking to replace the American legend as world champion too.

Phelps won this title at five of the past six world championships.

If Le Clos triumphs, he will be the first victor from outside the US and Europe. "It's an open race," said Le Clos, who won the Olympic title in 1min 52.96.

"There are a lot of guys here who can go 1:55."

Van der Burgh, who had to settle for silver in the 100m breaststroke on Monday, was revved up for the one-lap sprint yesterday.

He was the fastest in the morning and the evening, going 26.78sec in the heats and then marginally slower in the semifinals in 26.81.

The only swimmer who looked capable of sinking Van der Burgh was Slovenia's Damir Dugonjic, who notched up a European record of 26.83 in the other semifinal.

But Van der Burgh's training partner Giulio Zorzi - who scraped into this final with 27.44, the eighth-best time - is predicting Van der Burgh will better his 26.67 world mark.

"Definitely - 26.6 or 26.5," smiled Zorzi, who was chuffed to have made the first major final of his career.

His 27.44 effort in the semifinal was slower than his morning effort.

"I didn't have such a good one tonight," said the civil engineering student. "It would be amazing if both Cameron and I could make the podium."