Meder secures another World Champs qualifier as Chelius calls time on her career

Rebecca Meder wrapped up the SA Short Course Championships in Durban with another world championships qualifying time on Sunday.

The 22-year-old claimed an emphatic victory in the 200m breaststroke, dipping under the 2 minute 20 mark for the first time and finishing in a time of 2:19.77 to add to her list of events for the World Short Course Championships in Budapest from 10-15 December.

“Today I just wanted to see what I could do and try not to force the speed but just to let the speed carry through, and to finish on a 2:19 is incredible,” said a thrilled Meder afterwards.

“The fact that the breaststroke is so strong, shows that I still need to work on my other three as the medley is my main event. But I’m really happy with the breaststroke and we’ll see where it takes me.”

Earlier in the day, Emma Chelius swam the final event of her career, winning the 4x50m medley relay with TUKS teammates Kerryn Herbst, Georgia Els and Caitlin de Lange in a new South African record time of 1:50.95.

The 28-year-old enjoyed a successful international career, competing at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and African Championships.

The highlight, however, came in 2021 when she represented South Africa at the Tokyo Olympics and reached the semifinals of the 50m freestyle, breaking the national record twice, both in the heats and semifinal in the Japanese capital.

Speaking after her final race, Chelius explained: “I’ve gone through the whole spectrum of emotions in the last few days leading up to this so I think I’ve processed all the bittersweet heartache of leaving the sport so today I just felt excited

“The race went by in a blur and having my family here to support me was just the cherry on top.

“It made me feel excited for the next chapter knowing it will still involve swimming,” she added, pointing to a possible foray into broadcast media.

“My goal was always to be a good teammate and I think I can still do that even if I’m not swimming. It just feels like the perfect time to end… my husband [Troyden Prinsloo] is coaching so I’ll still be involved in swimming and I know that the teammates and friends that I’ve made will be lifelong friends so overall I’m very happy.”

While one swimmer was coming to the end of her career, another is just about to kick his off at international level. 16-year-old Kris Mihaylov picked up his third national title of the week on Sunday, winning the 1500m freestyle in 14:57.56.

Mihaylov’s other titles came in the 200m freestyle and in the 800m freestyle, dipping under the world championship qualifying time in the longer event as well as breaking the long-standing national record that was set by Ryk Neethling 24 years ago.

Neethling, who went on to win Olympic gold in Athens in 2004, hailed the rising star for his record-breaking swim.

“I am delighted for Kris that he broke my last senior SA record from 2000,” said Neethling.

“I’ve been a bit concerned at the lack of young talent coming through in the middle to longer distances but at 16, Kris is showing that he’s got a bright future ahead of him and for SA swimming.

“He’s being coached by the legendary Peter Williams and he can’t get better technical coaching and mentorship. I will be keeping a keen eye on him.

“My advice to him: dream big, work harder and stay humble.”