Chad le Clos bagged crown No2 at the South African swimming championships in Durban last night, winning the 200m freestyle in a race that failed to deliver the anticipated fast times.
Le Clos clocked 1min 48.43sec, missing out by one-hundredth of a second on the qualifying time for Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3.
Training partner Myles Brown was second in 1:49.31, ahead of Dylan Bosch (1:49.36) and Calvyn Justus (1:49.56).
"It was slower than I thought, a lot slower," said a disappointed Le Clos. "We were all a bit tentative to go. I had thought four of us would get the time."
His bid to win a record eight individual titles could end tonight in the 50m butterfly final where he takes on wily sprint ace Roland Schoeman.
In last night's semifinals Schoeman, 33, cracked the world's fastest time so far, an effort of 23.07sec that left his nearest competitors more than half a body length in his wake.
"To able to do that time in South Africa is really special," said Schoeman, a former two-time world champion in this event, who owns the 22.90s national record.
Le Clos won the other semifinal in 24.42s, but what was revealing was the manner in which he executed the victory.
He stuck to the shoulder of the front-runner and came on strong only at the death to touch first by 11-hundredths of a second - that's exactly how he sank Michael Phelps at the 2012 London Olympics.
Schoeman is a racehorse with a lightning start and terrifying burst of speed, and he will look to blow away his rival early on, but if Le Clos is in striking distance at the finish, that could be lethal.
Making Le Clos's task more difficult is his schedule tonight - he is also expected to compete in the 200m backstroke final and the 100m freestyle semifinal.
Gerhard Zandberg won the 14th 50m backstroke title of his career last night - he has never lost in this event at a national gala.
And he pledged to carry on competing, at least until the 2015 world championships.
In other action, Cameron van der Burgh (100m breaststroke) and Karin Prinsloo (100m backstroke and 100m freestyle) cruised into tonight's finals.
TV Highlights
Today
Golf: US Masters from Augusta, Georgia, par 3 contest at 9pm on SS1
Soccer: PSL, Chiefs vs Aces at 7.30pm on SS4, Sundowns vs Celtic at 7.30pm on SS6; European Champions League quarterfinals, second leg, Bayern Munich vs Man United at 8.45pm on SS3, Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona at 8.45pm on SS5
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