Veteran Le Clos to lead teenage brigade in the World Championships

Swimming South Africa has announced the team will represent South Africa in FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary from 18 June to 3 July 2022.

Veteran Chad le Clos has been included to join the teen brigade and will leading the charge along with several youngsters who will be competing for the first time in the World Championships.

Teenage sensation Lara van Niekerk, who beat Olympic 100m breaststroke silver medallist Tatjana Schoenmaker to the national title in that event in April, swimming to the fourth fastest time in the world this year is among the teenagers in team.

She™ll be competing in both the 50 and 100m breaststroke.

œOf course I am so happy to make the team to compete in Budapest, especially since this will be my first World Championships and I have always dreamt about racing the best in the world, said Van Niekerk.

Speaking about his inclusion in the team, Le Clos said: œI think it™s a big honour because no-one has ever done seven from South Africa that I can remember in recent years so I™m just super-happy to be going to another World Championships of course.

The 30-year-old also first competed at the event when he was a teenager himself and is likely to compete in the 50, 100 and 200m butterfly.

Numerous swimmers who qualified for the World Championships and have been included on the team list opted to focus only on the Commonwealth Games instead, which are taking place just a few weeks after the Budapest event.

The swimming programme in Hungary will take place from 18-25 June with the diving being contested from 26 June-3 July. Open water swimming will take place from 26-30 June. Artistic swimming will be contested from 17-25 June with the men™s and women™s water polo tournaments being played from 20 June-3 July.

FULL TEAM:

Swimming:

Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Emma Chelius (50, 100m freestyle), Pieter Coetzé (50, 100, 200m backstroke), Dune Coetzee (200 butterfly, 200, 400m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Brendan Crawford (100m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100 freestyle), Michael Houlie (50m breaststroke), Stephanie Houtman (1500m freestyle), Clayton Jimmie (50m freestyle), Chad le Clos (50, 100, 200 butterfly), Rebecca Meder (100m back, 200 & 400 IM), Olivia Nel (50m backstroke), Michaela Pulford (800m freestyle), Matthew Randle (200m breaststroke), Matthew Sates (100, 200, 400 freestyle, 200 IM), Tatjana Schoenmaker (50, 100, 200m breaststroke), Lara van Niekerk (50, 100m breaststroke), Inge Weidemann (50m butterfly)

OPEN WATER SWIMMING:

Ruan Breytenbach (5km, 10km) Connor Buck (5km, 10km) Amica de Jager (5km, 10km) Catherine van Rensburg (5km, 10km)

DIVING:

Grace Brammer (Synchro 3m), Cydney Liebenberg (1m), Kerry-Leigh Morrison (Synchro 3m), Julia Vincent (1m, 3m)

ARTISTIC SWIMMING:

Kaitlyn Doms, Chloe Dundas-Starr, Kathleen Jarvis, Jessica McCarthy, Skye McDonald, Siphokazi Myende, Laura Strugnell, Ayrton Sweeney, Rachel Taylor, Roxanne Thornton, Tayla-Jade Van Huyssteen, Xera Vegter-Maharajh, Casey Williams

WATER POLO - MEN:

Ignardus Badenhorst, Dylan Cronje, Todd Howard, Cameron Laurenson, Lwazi Madi, Farouk Mayman, Lonwabo Mfikili, Roarke Olver, Chad Roman, Ross Stone, Jonathan Swanepoel, Dane Tucker, Niall Wheeler

WATER POLO - WOMEN:

Iman Akomolafe, Shakira January, Megan Maartens, Tumaini Macdonell, Nicola Macloed, Chloe Meecham, Hannah Muller, Daniela Passoni, Paige Tancrel, Annie Thornton-Dibb, Ashleigh Vaughn, Ruby Versveld, Esihle Zondo