Swimming

‘Rebel’ Matthew Sates qualifies for world champs in 200m freestyle

07 April 2022 - 20:25
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Matthew Sates on his way to victory in the men's 200m freestyle at the SA championships in Gqeberha on Thursday evening.
Matthew Sates on his way to victory in the men's 200m freestyle at the SA championships in Gqeberha on Thursday evening.
Image: SUPPLIED

Nursing a painful right shoulder, Matthew Sates swam the second-fastest 200m freestyle in the world so far this year as he scooped his second crown of the SA championships in Gqeberha on Thursday evening.

The US-based student, fresh off winning his maiden NCAA crown in the 500-yard freestyle, clocked 1 min 46.15 sec at the Newton Park pool, almost a full second inside the 1:47.06 standard to book his spot in the national team for Budapest.

He was more than three seconds in front of second-placed Englishman Max Litchfield, who has been training in Cape Town with Chad le Clos.

Litchfield went on to win the 400m individual medley in the only other qualifying time of the night.

Sates, who won the 400m freestyle on Wednesday, had to skip this race because of his injury.

“I got a shoulder problem so I can’t do lots of butterfly,” said Sates, who will also scratch from the 200m butterfly, where he might have challenged Le Clos. “Even with freestyle it’s a little bit hard. But to get the qualifying time I can’t complain ... it was a good one,” he said.

A good one? Talk about an understatement — that time placed him second in the world right now, just one-hundredth of a second slower than Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto, and with an injury. The pecking order will change as more top swimming nations dive in for their galas.

“I just want to get some qualifying times, do rehab and everything after this meet. It’s pretty sore ... I have to play it by ear,” said Sates. 

He pointed out this was the first time he was racing in an Olympic-sized pool since the Tokyo Games. His victories at the World Cup series last year and on the collegiate circuit in the US were all short-course.   

“Still getting used to it,” he said. “The more racing I do the better I’ll get,” added Pietermaritzburg-born Sates, sporting the two earrings he got with his pierced ears in the US.

“Ja, first time away from home I thought I needed to rebel somehow. I didn’t get a tattoo but I got some earrings.”

And how did his mom react? “I asked her first.”

Emma Chelius narrowly missed the mark in the women’s 50m freestyle, her 25.08 winning time being just four-hundredths of a second off the ticket to Hungary.

“I felt really good,” said Chelius, who clocked a 24.64 African record in the Olympic semifinals. “It’s definitely the fastest I’ve been since Tokyo so that’s always good to come back off an exceptional year last year and get so close to that qualifying time.

“I’m going to lead off the 4x50m relay tomorrow so I’ll have one more shot at that qualifying time, but with the 50 everything has to come together perfectly, every minute detail and that’s what really counts.

“Getting that close to the qualifying time is obviously frustrating, but I’m really hoping tomorrow night it all comes together.”

Michael Houlie, long considered the replacement of breaststroker Cameron van der Burgh, finished second in the 100m breaststroke behind Brenden Crawford.

In an event where they needed 59.75, Crawford touched first in 1:01.00 and Houlie, a Tokyo Olympian based at the University of Tennessee, managed 1:01.56.

Van der Burgh’s spot remains open for now.

Rebecca Meder triumphed in a tight women’s 100m backstroke, clocking 1:02.55 ahead of Kerryn Herbst (1:02.98) and Olivia Nel (1:03.00).


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