Dune does it again in Barcelona with SA's only medal of the day

Dune Coetzee landed South Africa’s only medal on the final day of the Mare Nostrum gala in Barcelona on Thursday, finishing strongly in the 800m freestyle to take bronze.

She touched in 8min 43.38sec, behind Francisca Martins of Portugal (8:40.71) and Emma Giannelli of Italy (8:41.80) for her second gong of the meeting, adding to her 400m freestyle bronze.

But Lara van Niekerk’s battle against her slump continued as she finished sixth in the non-Olympic 50m breaststroke in 31.98, well behind Italian winner Benedetta Pilato in 30.06.

In 2022 they shared the world championship podium in this event, but the South African is far off her own 29.72 personal best.

Van Niekerk had actually gone quicker in the morning heats, clocking 31.86, the fifth-fastest swim of the session.

In the same race Van Niekerk’s compatriot Mikaela Goelst of the Seals club in Pietermaritzburg ended seventh in 32.25.

Caitlin de Lange, third in the 50m butterfly on Wednesday, finished sixth in the women’s 50m freestyle, touching in 25.22.

She’s looking for the 24.70 mark to secure a berth at the Olympics.

Chad le Clos went 2:00.91 in the 200m butterfly heats, finishing 17th overall and missing out on the A-final.

In the main race Minseop Kim of Korea stunned Olympic champion Kristof Milak of Hungary, winning in 1:55.47, inside the 1:55.78 entry standard for Paris.

This was the event in which Le Clos won gold at London 2012, upstaging Michael Phelps, but he’s unlikely to make a serious attempt to book a spot in this race before the qualifying window ends on June 23.

So far Le Clos has qualified in only the 100m butterfly.

The Mare Nostrum series moves to Monaco for the final gala at the weekend.