Neethling smashes world record
Brad Morgan
14 February 2005
Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman again proved the showstoppers at the seventh meeting of the FINA Short Course World Cup in New York over the weekend, with both swimmers recording multiple victories with brilliant performances over world-class fields
For Neethling in particular, the meeting was a monumental triumph. For the third time he lowered the world record for the 100 metres individual medley - and it wasn't just a slight improvement over his previous mark.
Top of the FINA points table
Neethling clocked 51.52 to slash 0.49 seconds off the mark he set in Moscow. That lifted his World Cup leading score on the FINA points table to 1 108. It also leaves him poised to snatch the US$50 000 prize for the top performance of the series with only one more meeting to go.
Schoeman, meanwhile, came home in second in 52.23, which was worth 1 063 points, and lifted him from third to second in the
standings.
Schoeman set the ball rolling for the South Africans with a sensational victory in the 100 metres freestyle in 46.27 seconds, just two-hundredths outside the world record he currently shares with Jason Lezak. Neethling snared second in 47.03.
In the 50m butterfly, only minutes later, Schoeman returned to notch his second win, this time in 23.18.
Top performances on day two
On the second day of competition, Neethling again caught the eye. First up, he claimed victory in the 200m freestyle in a hasty 1:43.12. It was a comprehensive win by almost three seconds over his closest rival.
Then, an hour later, he surprised Schoeman and the American, Jason Lezak, in the 50 metres freestyle, winning in a blistering 21.44, the fastest time of the series so far. Schoeman captured second in 21.52.
The win brought Neethling's win total in the World Cup to a series-leading 14, with seven second places and four
thirds.
Other South African showings
Two other South Africans turned in good showings, too. Neil Versfeld finished eighth in the final of the 50 metres breaststroke, improved his position to sixth in the 100m, and to an impressive second in the 200m. He also finished sixth in the 200 metres individual medley.
Marizanne Grundlingh was sixth in the women's 200 metres individual medley, and finished just outside the medals in the 400m individual medley, ending fourth.
South Africa finished second on the medals table to hosts the USA, thanks mainly to Olympic gold medal winners Neethling and Schoeman.
The series to date
South Africa topped the medals table on home soil, at the first meet of the 2004/2005 World Cup series, with 31 medals in total, made up of 11 golds, nine silvers and 11 bronzes.
At the second meet in Melbourne, Australia predictably finished top of the standings, but South Africa
was in second spot, thanks mostly to the strong performances of Neethling, who was the top male swimmer, winning five events.
The improving depth of South African swimming was demonstrated at the next meet in Daejon, South Korea when, in the absence of Neethling and Schoeman, SA picked up three medals.
Neil Versfeld claimed victory in the 200m breaststroke, while Mandy Loots took silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 200m individual medley.
Neethling and Schoeman immediately made their presence felt when they returned to the circuit at the fourth meet in Stockholm.
Schoeman equaled the world record in the 100m freestyle on the opening day, with Neethling touching in second spot. Then, in the evening, Schoeman edged Neethling by just a tenth of a second as he shattered the 100m individual medley world record.
On the second day Neething recorded his eighth win of the World Cup series, capturing the 200m freestyle by some distance in an excellent
1:43.01. Schoeman then won his third gold of the meet, this time in the 50, freestyle, with Neethling coming home in third.
The Neethling and Schoeman show
At the next stop, in Berlin, it was again the Neethling and Schoeman show. Schoeman was first to shine, with another amazing swim in the 100m freestyle, where he clocked 46.25 to equal Ian Crocker's world record. And he was on song again later in the day, winning the 50m butterfly in 22.92.
Neethling, for his part, turned in a powerful display in the 100m individual medley, smashing his national team-mate's world record with an astonishing time of 52.11.
On the second day the two stars were at it again, Neethling recording the second-highest points performance of the day with his victory in the 200, freestyle in 1:42.75, while Schoeman raced to another win in the 50m freestyle, with Neethling in third.
On to Moscow, where Neethling surprised even himself by winning the 100m
individual medley in another world record, this time 52.01. As he pointed out afterwards, almost all the times in Moscow were slower than in Berlin, but not his.
Schoeman had visa problems that resulted in him travelling to Moscow and having to travel back to Germany before returning to Russia once more. Nonetheless, he still acquitted himself well, picking up silver behind Neethling.
In the absence of Schoeman, Neethling raced to victory in the 100m freestyle, finished second in the 200m freestyle, first in the 200m individual medley, and third in the 50m freestyle, just behind Schoeman, who was pipped by Jason Lezak for the win.
SA depth improving
The cherry on the top for SA was the performances of the other three South African swimmers at the meet. George du Rand captured second in the 200m backstroke, Melissa Corfe third in the 400m freestyle, and Troyden Prinsloo third in the 1 500m freestyle.
It has been a great season for
Neethling and Schoeman so far, but it hasn't been about the two stars alone. The performance of other South African swimmers is an indication that the success of the country at the Athens Olympics is providing the motivation and exposure needed for it to succeed at the highest level.
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