Le Clos, Gallagher clinch Olympic qualifiers as Schoeman rolls back years in Gqeberha

While returning veteran Roland Schoeman put in an admirable performance in his comeback, it was Chad le Clos, Erin Gallagher and Lara van Niekerk who stole the show on the fourth night of swimming at the SA National Aquatic Championships in Gqeberha.

Following his victories in the 200m butterfly and 100m freestyle, Le Clos continued to impress in the 100m butterfly, powering to an Olympic qualifying time of 51.37 and outgunning young Matt Sates to the title.

Second-placed Sates nevertheless achieved an A qualifying time for the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan this July, finishing in a speedy 51.91.

"I'm really happy with the week. I was a little nervous... for some reason, Matt and I have these ding-dong battles in the final 10 metres and it’s always super-close but I'm delighted with the time and the result and now we try and win this race next year at the Olympic Games. Now I'm confident I can win," said Le Clos afterwards.

"Tonight I was finessed, I was controlled, hit my strokes, hit the turn well and I thought he was coming so I just put my head down so I'm over the moon.

"But now we push on to the Olympics - they've got a lot of trouble coming their way. That's what I can promise you."

RESULTS: SA Swimming Championships - Day 4  

Gallagher was elated to dip below the 58-second mark in the 100m butterfly for the first time since 2019.

The 24-year-old stopped the clock on 57.84 seconds to secure qualification for both the World Championships and Olympic Games.

"It's amazing to know that I’m on track. It's quite emotional - I'm surprised I'm not crying right now," said Gallagher.

As for achieving the Olympic qualifying time, she added: "It was something that I was trying to go for. My coach said it was time to now