Hannah Pearse was the final addition to the Commonwealth Games qualifying list on the last day of the Bombela Concession Company SA Swimming Championships in Gqeberha on Saturday.
The 23-year-old couldn’t hold back her tears after sailing to victory in the 200m backstroke in a time of 2 minutes 10.92 seconds to take a step closer to achieving her ambition of competing at the Commonwealth Games, which take place in Glasgow in July/August.
“It’s surreal. It’s a big dream, so I can’t believe the dream finally came true,” said the neurophysiology honours student after the race.
“I knew I had it in me, but I wasn't sure. It’s been a rough year with lots of ups and downs. So the belief was there, but it was a deep-down belief and we had to really dig deep to find it.”
Also securing a comfortable victory in the 200m backstroke was fellow Pretoria swimmer Pieter Coetzé. Having taken it easy in the morning heats, the 21-year-old was considerably faster in the final, taking his fifth individual win of the championships in 1:55.26.
“I used to swim this race very back-end based, and I want to get my body used to going out a bit faster… I would have liked to go out a bit faster than that, but it’s okay,” he said afterwards.
As for his overall performance in Gqeberha, where he achieved Commonwealth Games qualifying times in all five of his events, Coetzé added: “This is only my second meet in about nine months. So I think it’s a great base and I’ve got about two months now to go back to work and make sure I put in a good performance at Commonwealth.”
The other two Commonwealth Games qualifiers on Saturday were Erin Gallagher and Caitlin de Lange, who finished first and second in the 50m butterfly.
Both swimmers had already achieved the qualifying time in the morning heats and did it again in the evening, Gallagher taking the title in 25.63 seconds and De Lange claiming silver in 25.98.
“It was always going to be close. It’s all about the start and the finish and timing everything perfectly,” explained Gallagher, who also won the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle titles at these championships.
“You never really know what to expect, and it’s always great when it pays off. But it’s a splash and dash. You don't have much time to think, you kind of just close your eyes and go for it.”
De Lange agreed. “The 50 is always such a hit-or-miss. From the start you either feel so great or so bad, and you just ride along with it. But that was a really fun race,” she said.
BATTLE OF THE VETERANS
Meanwhile, Calvyn Justus completed his remarkable return to the pool after a devastating back injury by winning his first national title in a decade in the 50m butterfly.
It was a battle of the veterans as 30-year-old Justus just held off 34-year-old Chad le Clos, winning in 23.68 seconds with Le Clos second by just one hundredth of a second.
Still a newcomer to the butterfly, Justus was thrilled with the win.
“The butterfly's still so new to me. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like yet… That was only the second time I've ever done it, so it's still pretty foreign to me and I think I need a lot more work in cleaning up. But we'll take it, a win's a win.
“I had a ton of fun racing Chad,” added the Los Angeles-based swimmer. “I grew up with him so it's kind of like a full circle moment. I think that was a special way to come back to South Africa.”
Later in the evening, Matthew Caldwell completed his hat-trick of titles, adding the 400m freestyle to his 800 and 1500m golds after winning in 3:53.02. Duné Coetzee successfully defended her 400m freestyle title by winning in 4:11.35.
A total of 13 swimmers achieved Commonwealth Games qualifying times at the Bombela Concession Company SA Swimming Championships, with Pieter Coetzé emerging as the standout male swimmer after securing five titles and matching qualifying marks, while Aimee Canny led the women with four titles and qualifying performances.
Commonwealth Games qualifiers achieved at the Bombela Concession Company SA Swimming Championships 2026:
Aimee Canny: 200m freestyle, 100m, 200m breaststroke, 200m individual medley
Pieter Coetzé: 50m, 100m & 200m backstroke, 50m &100m freestyle
Kaylene Corbett: 200m breaststroke
Cailtin de Lange: 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly
Erin Gallagher: 50m & 100m butterfly
Michael Houlie: 50m breaststroke
Calvyn Justus: 50m freestyle
Rebecca Meder: 200m individual medley
Hannah Pearse: 200m backstroke
Chris Smith: 50m breaststroke
Jessica Thompson: 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle
Lara van Niekerk: 50m breaststroke
Ruard van Renen: 50m & 100m backstroke