Lara van Niekerk (born 13 May 2003) is a South African competitive swimmer. She is the current African, Commonwealth, and South African record holder in the long course 50-metre breaststroke and the African and South African record holder in the short course 50-metre breaststroke. She won gold medals in the 50-metre breaststroke at the 2018 African Swimming Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games as well as a silver medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships and the bronze medal at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships (long course) in the same event. In the 100-metre breaststroke, she won gold medals at the 2018 African Swimming Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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National team | South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | [2] Pretoria, South Africa | 13 May 2003||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | Eugene da Ponte[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Background
editVan Niekerk was born 13 May 2003 in South Africa.[2]
Career
edit2017–2019
editAt the 2017 African Junior Swimming Championships in Cairo, Egypt in March, Van Niekerk won a total of five medals including gold medals in the 100-metre breaststroke, 4×100-metre mixed medley relay, 50-metre breaststroke, 4×100-metre medley relay, and a silver medal in the 200-metre breaststroke.[2]
2018 African Championships | ||
---|---|---|
200 m breaststroke | 2:35.25 | |
50 m breaststroke | 31.99 (CR) | |
100 m breaststroke | 1:11.13 | |
4×100 m medley | 4:12.83 |
In 2018, at the year's African Swimming Championships in Algiers, Algeria, Van Niekerk won a gold medal in each of the four events she competed.[3] She won her first gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke with a time of 2:35.25.[3][4] For her second gold medal, she won the 50-metre breaststroke with a new Championships record time of 31.99 seconds, which broke the former record of 32.06 seconds set by Tilka Paljk of Zambia in the prelims heats.[3][5] In the 100-metre breaststroke, she won her third gold medal of the Championships, finishing over eight-tenths of a second ahead of the silver medalist in the event with a time of 1:11.13.[3][6] For her fourth and final event of the Championships, she concluded with another gold medal, this time helping win the 4×100-metre medley relay in 4:12.83, splitting a 1:10.40 for the breaststroke leg of the relay.[3][7]
The following year, Van Niekerk competed in four events at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, placing fourth in the 50-metre breaststroke with a 31.12, 20th in the 100-metre breaststroke with a 1:10.95, 30th in the 200-metre breaststroke with a 2:36.91, and tenth in 4:15.71 as part of the 4×100-metre medley relay with a split of 1:11.42 for the breaststroke leg of the relay.[8]
2021
editIn April 2021, at the 2021 South Africa National Swimming Championships in Gqeberha, Van Niekerk won the silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke with a time of 1:07.40, which was 1.68 seconds faster than the Olympic Selection Time of 1:09.08 and 0.33 seconds slower than the Olympic Qualification Time of 1:07.07, however she was not sent to represent South Africa at the 2020 Summer Olympics as that one roster spot went to automatic qualifier Tatjana Schoenmaker who won the gold medal in an Olympic Qualifying Time.[9][10][11]
At the 2021 South Africa National Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg in September, Van Niekerk set two new African and South African records in the short course 50-metre breaststroke, first setting a mark of 30.06 seconds in the prelims heats, then lowering her records to a time of 29.85 seconds in the final.[12][13] Her swim made her the first South African woman to swim the race in less than 30 seconds.[12][14] Approximately two months later, she set new African, South African, and Commonwealth records in the long course 50-metre breaststroke with a time of 29.88 seconds at the 2021 Northern Tigers Swimming Championships in Pretoria.[14][15] With her time of 29.88 seconds, she also became the first South African woman to finish the event faster than 30 seconds and the seventh-fastest female swimmer in the event in history.[14][16]
2022
edit2022 South Africa National Championships (LC)
editVan Niekerk swam faster than 1:07.00 in the long course 100-metre breaststroke twice at the 2022 Grand Prix international meet number two in Durban in February, first swimming a personal best time of 1:06.52 in the preliminary heats, then a 1:06.74 in the final.[17][18] For the 2022 South Africa National Swimming Championships in Gqeberha in April, in part a selection meet to determine the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games South Africa team members, she entered to compete in the 50-metre breaststroke, 50-metre freestyle, 50-metre butterfly, and 100-metre breaststroke.[19] On the first day of competition, 6 April, she set new African, South African, and Commonwealth records in the 50-metre breaststroke, lowering her former mark of 29.88 seconds from 2021 to 29.72 seconds in the prelims heats of the event.[20][21][22][23] The records were ratified by the governing body for aquatic sports in South Africa, Swimming South Africa, on 7 April 2022.[23]
In the final, Van Niekerk placed first in 30.60 seconds, finishing 0.27 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tatjana Schoenmaker and attaining a qualifying time for both the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.[24][25][26] In the prelims heats of the 50-metre freestyle on day two, she swam a 27.53 in prelims heat six and did not advance to the final in the evening.[27] For the 50-metre butterfly prelims heats on day three, she placed sixth in prelims heat one with a time of 28.57 seconds, not making the top eight across all prelims heats and thus not qualifying for the evening final.[28] On the fourth day, in the prelims heats of the 100-metre breaststroke, she swam a personal best time of 1:06.08 and qualified for the evening final, where she went on to swim a personal best time of 1:05.67 to win the gold medal and achieve a qualifying time for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.[29][30][31] She was named to both the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games teams.[32][33]
2022 World Aquatics Championships
edit2022 World Championships (LC) | ||
---|---|---|
50 m breaststroke | 29.90 |
In her first event of the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the 100-metre breaststroke, Van Niekerk qualified for the evening semifinals with a time of 1:06.75 and rank of tenth from the preliminaries.[34] She equalled her time of 1:06.75 in the semifinals, this time placing thirteenth and not advancing to the final.[35][36] In the preliminaries of the 50-metre breaststroke five days later, she ranked first overall with a time of 29.77 seconds and advanced to the semifinals.[37][38][39] She finished in a time of 29.99 seconds in the semifinals, qualifying for the final ranking third behind Benedetta Pilato of Italy and Rūta Meilutytė of Lithuania.[40] In the final of the 50-metre breaststroke, she won the first medal for South Africa in any aport at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, a bronze medal with a time of 29.90 seconds, and continued on the streak of South Africa winning at least one medal at a FINA World Aquatics Championships since 2001.[41][42][1]
2022 Commonwealth Games
edit2022 Commonwealth Games | ||
---|---|---|
50 m breaststroke | 29.73 (GR) | |
100 m breaststroke | 1:05.47 |
On the first day of swimming at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham, England starting the month following the World Championships, Van Niekerk ranked first in the preliminaries of the 50-metre breaststroke, setting a new Games record with her time of 29.82 seconds and qualifying for the semifinals.[43][44][45][46] She lowered her Games record to a 29.80 in the semifinals, qualifying for the final ranking first.[47][48][49] In the final the following day, she won the gold medal with a Games record time of 29.73 seconds.[50][51][52] Her gold medal was the first medal of any kind for South Africa at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in any sport.[53][54][55]
Day four, Van Niekerk qualified for the semifinals of the 100-metre breaststroke with a 1:06.40 in the morning preliminaries, which was 0.70 seconds ahead of second-ranked Tatjana Schoenmaker.[56] Swimming under the 1:06.00 threshold for the first time at a Commonwealth Games in the semifinals with a time of 1:05.96, she qualified for the final of the event along with fellow South Africans Tatjana Schoenmaker, who ranked second, and Kaylene Corbett, who ranked seventh.[57] She won the gold medal in the final with a personal best time of 1:05.47.[58][59][60] Later in the session, she helped set new African and South African records in the 4×100-metre mixed medley relay in the final, splitting a 1:05.41 to contribute to the new records's time of 3:44.38 and help place fourth.[61] Day six of six, she split a 1:05.56 in the final of the 4×100-metre medley relay, contributing to a fourth-place finish less than two-tenths of a second behind the team from England in a new African and South African record time of 3:59.63.[62]
2022 South Africa National Championships (SC)
editAt the 2022 South Africa Short Course Championships, held in mid-August in Pietermaritzburg, Van Niekerk set a new African record in the 50-metre breaststroke with a time of 29.62 seconds, which doubled as a qualifying time for the 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships.[63][64][65] Prior to setting the new record and winning the gold medal in the evening final, she set a new record of 29.67 seconds in the morning preliminaries heats.[65] She also achieved a qualifying time, and the national title, in the 200-metre breaststroke with a personal best time of 2:22.75.[66] Earlier in the Championships, she achieved qualifying and personal best times in the 100-metre breaststroke twice, first in the preliminaries heats with a time of 1:04.92, and second in the final of the event with a 1:04.89 to win the gold medal and national title.[67]
2022 World Short Course Championships
edit2022 World Championships (SC) | ||
---|---|---|
50 m breaststroke | 29.09 (AF) |
On day two of the 2022 World Short Course Championships in December, Van Niekerk ranked second in the preliminaries of the 100 metre breaststroke at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre with a personal best time of 1:03.93, advancing to the semifinals.[68][69] For the evening session, she tied for fifth-rank in the semifinals with a time of 1:04.36 and qualified for the final.[69][70] She placed fifth in the final the following day with a time of 1:04.12.[71] The fifth morning, she ranked third in the preliminaries of the 50 metre breaststroke, setting a new African record with a time of 29.45 seconds and qualifying for the semifinals.[72][73] In the evening, she lowered the African record to 29.27 seconds and qualified for the final ranking third.[73][74][75] She won the first silver medal for South Africa at the competition, and the second silver medal for South Africa in the female event following Penelope Heyns in 1999, in the final, finishing in a new African record time of 29.09 seconds.[76][77]
2023
editAt the long course 2023 South African National Championships in April in Gqeberha, Van Niekerk achieved a 2023 World Aquatics Championships qualifying time in the 100-metre breaststroke on day one with a time of 1:06.96 and overall rank of first in the morning preliminaries.[78] She improved her qualifying time to a 1:06.74 in the final, winning the silver medal.[79] On the fourth day, she won the gold medal and national title in the 50-metre breaststroke with a World Championships qualifying time of 29.78 seconds, which was 0.93 seconds faster than the next-fastest competitor.[80][81] On the final day of the 2023 Mare Nostrum tour, 21 May, she won the gold medal in the 50-metre breaststroke with a tour record time of 29.75 seconds.[82]
International championships (50 m)
editMeet | 50 breaststroke | 100 breaststroke | 200 breaststroke | 4×100 medley relay | 4×100 mixed medley relay |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Junior level | |||||
AJC 2017 (age: 13) |
(33.16) |
(1:12.13) |
(2:38.68) |
(relay - 4:26.97) |
(relay - 4:16.00) |
WJC 2019 (age: 16) |
4th (31.12) |
20th (1:10.95) |
30th (2:36.91) |
10th (relay - 4:15.71) |
|
Senior level | |||||
AC 2018 (age: 15) |
(31.99 CR) |
(1:11.13) |
(2:35.25) |
(relay - 4:12.83) |
|
WC 2022 (age: 19) |
(29.90) |
13th (1:06.75) |
|||
CG 2022 (age: 19) |
(29.73 GR) |
(1:05.47) |
4th (relay - 3:59.63 AF) |
4th (relay - 3:44.38 AF) |
International championships (25 m)
editMeet | 50 breaststroke | 100 breaststroke |
---|---|---|
WC 2022 (age: 19) |
(29.09 AF) |
5th (1:04.12) |
Personal best times
editLong course metres (50 m pool)
editEvent | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Notes | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50 m breaststroke | 29.72 | h | 2022 SA National Swimming Championships | Gqeberha | 6 April 2022 | AF, NR, CR | [20] |
100 m breaststroke | 1:05.47 | 2022 Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, England | 2 August 2022 | [58] | ||
200 m breaststroke | 2:31.30 | 2021 South Africa Grand Prix No. 4 | Durban | 29 May 2021 | [2] |
Legend: AF – African record; NR – South African record; CR – Commonwealth record
Short course metres (25 m pool)
editEvent | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Notes | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50 m breaststroke | 29.09 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 18 December 2022 | AF, NR | [76] | |
100 m breaststroke | 1:03.93 | h | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 14 December 2022 | [68][69] | |
200 m breaststroke | 2:22.75 | 2022 South Africa National Short Course Championships | Pietermaritzburg | 14 August 2022 | [66] |
Legend: AF – African record; NR – South African record
Continental and national records
editLong course metres (50 m pool)
editNo. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 50 m breaststroke | 29.88 | 2021 Northern Tigers Swimming Championships | Pretoria | 20 December 2021 | AF, NR | Former | Former CR | [14][15] | |
2 | 50 m breaststroke (2) | 29.72 | h | 2022 SA National Swimming Championships | Gqeberha | 6 April 2022 | AF, NR | Current | CR | [20][21][22][23] |
3 | 4×100 m mixed medley | 3:44.38 | 2022 Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, England | 2 August 2022 | AF, NR | Current | [61] | ||
4 | 4×100 m medley | 3:59.63 | 2022 Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, England | 3 August 2022 | AF, NR | Current | [62] |
Records not set in finals: h – heat;
Short course metres (25 m pool)
editNo. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Type | Status | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 50 m breaststroke | 30.06 | h | 2021 South Africa National Short Course Championships | Pietermaritzburg | 16 September 2021 | AF, NR | Former | [13] |
2 | 50 m breaststroke (2) | 29.85 | 2021 South Africa National Short Course Championships | Pietermaritzburg | 16 September 2021 | AF, NR | Former | [12][13] | |
3 | 50 m breaststroke (3) | 29.67 | h | 2022 South Africa National Short Course Championships | Pietermaritzburg | 13 August 2022 | AF, NR | Former | [65] |
4 | 50 m breaststroke (4) | 29.62 | 2022 South Africa National Short Course Championships | Pietermaritzburg | 13 August 2022 | AF, NR | Former | [63][64][65] | |
5 | 50 m breaststroke (5) | 29.45 | h | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 17 December 2022 | AF, NR | Former | [72][73] |
6 | 50 m breaststroke (6) | 29.27 | sf | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 17 December 2022 | AF, NR | Former | [73][74][75] |
7 | 50 m breaststroke (7) | 29.09 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne, Australia | 18 December 2022 | AF, NR | Current | [76][77] |
Records not set in finals: h – heat;
Awards and honours
edit- GSport Award, Momentum Athlete of the Year: 2022 (awarded 14 September 2022)[83][84]
- GSport Award, Global Woman in Sport: 2022 (awarded 14 September 2022)[83][84]
- GSport Award honour, Ministerial Recognition of Excellence: 2022 (awarded 14 September 2022)[83]
- Gauteng Sport Award finalist, Sportswoman of the Year: 2022 (announced 3 November 2022)[85]
- Gauteng Sport Award finalist, Sport Personality of the Year: 2022 (announced 3 November 2022)[85]
- Swimming World, Female African Swimmer of the Year: 2022 (awarded 24 December 2022)[86]
- Swammy Award, African Female Swimmer of the Year: 2022 (awarded 27 December 2022)[87]
- SA Sports Award, Sportswoman of the Year: 2022 (awarded 25 March 2023)[88]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Van Niekerk Claims SA's First World Champs Medal". Swimming South Africa. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Lara Van Niekerk: Results". FINA. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "13th CANA Swimming Championships - Algiers (Algeria) 2018: Full Set of Results" (in French). Swimming South Africa. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ D'Addona, Dan (11 September 2018). "Egypt's Farida Osman Sets CANA Africa Swimming Record in 50 Fly; South Africa Wins 8 Medals". Swimming World. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ D'Addona, Dan (12 September 2018). "Lara van Niekerk Breaks CANA Africa Swimming and Open Water Championship Record". Swimming World. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ D'Addona, Dan (13 September 2018). "Farida Osman Wins; Egypt, South Africa Lean CANA Africa Championships". Swimming World. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ Ross, Andy (15 September 2018). "Egypt Extends Lead On South Africa At the Africa Swimming and Open Water Championships". Swimming World. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ FINA (25 August 2019). "7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2019 Budapest (HUN): Results Book". Omega Timing. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES: Qualifying Time Standards - SW". FINA. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Memo: Qualification System_ Games of the XXXII Olympiad _ Tokyo 2020". FINA. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ Ross, Andy (11 April 2021). "Tatjana Schoenmaker Adds Second Event For Tokyo With 1:05 100 Breaststroke at South African Nationals". Swimming World. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ a b c Race, Retta (16 September 2021). "Van Niekerk Becomes First South African Woman Under 30 Seconds In SCM 50 Breast". SwimSwam. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "Lara van Niekerk in fine form as records tumble in Pietermaritzburg". News24. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d Abrahams, Celine (20 December 2021). "Lara van Niekerk New 50m Breaststroke African Record Holder". gsport.co.za. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ a b Race, Retta (20 September 2021). "Van Niekerk Hits New South African LCM 50 Breast Record In Pretoria". SwimSwam. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ Isaacson, David (9 January 2022). "Lara van Niekerk looking to make her mark in the pool". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
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- ^ a b "Lara van Niekerk smashes records at swimming championships". Independent Online. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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- ^ SwimSA TV (9 April 2022). "National Aquatics Championships 2022 Day 4". YouTube. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
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- ^ Jonckheere, Karien (9 April 2022). "18-year-old matric pupil stuns Olympic superstar Tatjana Schoenmaker at SA swim champs". News24. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
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- ^ FINA (19 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 100m Breaststroke Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
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- ^ FINA (24 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 50m Breaststroke Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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- ^ FINA (24 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 50m Breaststroke Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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- ^ Butler, Lynn (25 June 2022). "Teen Lara van Niekerk claims bronze as SA wins first medal at FINA World Championships". News24. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ^ "Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Women's 50m Breaststroke Heats Results Summary". Longines. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ Burnard, Lloyd (29 July 2022). "Teenager Van Niekerk lands SA's first punch in Birmingham with record swim: 'I just felt so good'". News24. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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- ^ Jonckheere, Karien (30 July 2022). "Golden double for SA swimmers in Birmingham". SuperSport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Craig (30 July 2022). "Van Niekerk, Coetze claim SA's first gold medals of Commonwealth Games". News24. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Burnard, Lloyd (1 August 2022). "Schoenmaker, Van Niekerk set for epic showdown as SA swimmers shine in Birmingham". News24. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Women's 100m Breaststroke Semi-Finals Results Summary". Longines. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Women's 100m Breaststroke Final Results". Longines. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ Botton, Wesley (2 August 2022). "SA's golden girls shine again in the pool at Commonwealth Games". The Citizen. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Golden girl Van Niekerk makes it two from two as SA swimmers rake in more medals". Swimming South Africa. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results". Longines. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Women's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results". Longines. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
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- ^ a b Jonckheere, Karien (13 August 2022). "SA golden teen Lara van Niekerk smashes African record in Pietermaritzburg". News24. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Isaacson, David (14 August 2022). "Lara van Niekerk lowers her own African record at SA championships". The Sowetan. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
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- ^ "Star swimmers back in action at SA Short Course Championships". Swimming South Africa. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
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