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Blast from the past: Heyns sets her first of 14 world records in Durban

Today in SA sport history: March 4

Penny Heyns sets a world record, clocking 1 min 07.46 sec in the 100m breaststroke at the SA Olympic trials in Durban in 1996.
Penny Heyns sets a world record, clocking 1 min 07.46 sec in the 100m breaststroke at the SA Olympic trials in Durban in 1996. (Adam Pretty/ALLSPORT)

1971 — Lee McGregor wins the 200m backstroke title for his fifth crown of the SA swimming championships at Newlands, winning the highest number of titles by a male swimmer at a national gala. The all-time record of six was held by a woman, set by Karen Muir two years earlier.

1986 — Gerrie Coetzee takes on young British heavyweight hope Frank Bruno at Wembley in London and gets blown out in the first round, losing his status as a world title contender. Coetzee had been hoping to get another shot at the WBA crown he had lost in December 1984 on a controversial eighth-round knockout.

1995 — Vuyani Bungu makes the second defence of his IBF junior-featherweight title, beating Mohammed Nurhuda of Indonesia on points at the Carousel Casino.

1996 — Penny Heyns sets the first of her 14 world records, clocking 1 min 07.46 sec in the 100m breaststroke at the South African Olympic trials in Durban. She would win Olympic gold in the 100m and 200m at the Atlanta Games later that year, becoming the only woman to win the breaststroke double.

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