# 2022 SA National Swimming Championships

The 2022 SA National Swimming Championships was held from 6 to 11 April 2022 in Gqeberha, South Africa at the Newton Park Swimming Pool. Events were competed in a long course (50 metres long) swimming pool. It served as a selection meet for determining the swimmers to represent South Africa at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games. It was held concurrently with the 2022 SA National Junior Swimming Championships as part of the multi-sport 2022 Telkom SA National Aquatic Championships. The meet was open to international competition and included multi-class para swimming events.

## Event schedule

A total of 62 events were competed over six days, including 18 para swimming events. For para swimming events, men and women had the same schedule. Heats started at 07:30 on days one and four, and started at 08:30 on days two, three, five, and six. Senior finals started at 18:00 each day.
| H | Heats | Finals |
Men :
| Date → | Wed 6 | Wed 6 | Thu 7 | Thu 7 | Fri 8 | Fri 8 | Sat 9 | Sat 9 | Sun 10 | Sun 10 | Mon 11 | Mon 11 |
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | H | | | |
| 100 m freestyle | | | | | H | | | | | | | |
| 200 m freestyle | | | H | | | | | | | | | |
| 400 m freestyle | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 800 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1500 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 50 m backstroke | | | | | H | | | | | | | |
| 100 m backstroke | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 200 m backstroke | | | | | | | | | H | | | |
| 50 m breaststroke | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 100 m breaststroke | | | H | | | | | | | | | |
| 200 m breaststroke | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 50 m butterfly | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 100 m butterfly | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 200 m butterfly | | | | | H | | | | | | | |
| 200 m individual medley | | | | | | | | | | | H | |
| 400 m individual medley | | | H | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×100 m medley relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Women :
| Date → | Wed 6 | Wed 6 | Thu 7 | Thu 7 | Fri 8 | Fri 8 | Sat 9 | Sat 9 | Sun 10 | Sun 10 | Mon 11 | Mon 11 |
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | | | H | | | | | | | | | |
| 100 m freestyle | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 200 m freestyle | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 400 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | | | H | |
| 800 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1500 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 50 m backstroke | | | | | | | | | H | | | |
| 100 m backstroke | | | H | | | | | | | | | |
| 200 m backstroke | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 50 m breaststroke | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 100 m breaststroke | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 200 m breaststroke | | | | | H | | | | | | | |
| 50 m butterfly | | | | | H | | | | | | | |
| 100 m butterfly | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 200 m butterfly | | | | | | | | | H | | | |
| 200 m individual medley | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 400 m individual medley | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×100 m medley relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Mixed :
| Date → | Wed 6 | Wed 6 | Thu 7 | Thu 7 | Fri 8 | Fri 8 | Sat 9 | Sat 9 | Sun 10 | Sun 10 | Mon 11 | Mon 11 |
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4×100 m medley relay | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Para swimming (multi-class, men and women) :
| Date → | Wed 6 | Wed 6 | Thu 7 | Thu 7 | Fri 8 | Fri 8 | Sat 9 | Sat 9 | Sun 10 | Sun 10 | Mon 11 | Mon 11 |
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 100 m freestyle | | | | | | | | | H | | | |
| 50 m backstroke | | | | | | | | | H | | | |
| 100 m backstroke | | | H | | | | | | | | | |
| 50 m breaststroke | H | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 100 m breaststroke | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 50 m butterfly | | | | | | | H | | | | | |
| 100 m butterfly | | | | | H | | | | | | | |
| 200 m individual medley | | | | | | | | | | | H | |

## Overall results

Key:  Highlighted swimmers achieved the "A" qualifying time for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the event.  Highlighted swimmers achieved a "B" qualifying time and were named to the 2022 World Aquatics Championships roster for South Africa in the event.

### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 50 m freestyle | Pieter Coetze (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 22.34 | Brad Tandy (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 22.49 | Clayton Jimmie (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 22.82 |
| 100 m freestyle | Matthew Sates (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 48.97 | Pieter Coetze (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 50.17 | Alexander Skinner (NAM) Namibia | 50.43 |
| 200 m freestyle | Matthew Sates (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 1:46.15 | Max Litchfield (GBR) Great Britain | 1:49.49 | Andrew Ross (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:49.59 |
| 400 m freestyle | Matthew Sates (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 3:49.37 | Max Litchfield (GBR) Great Britain | 3:51.37 | Andrew Ross (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 3:56.92 |
| 800 m freestyle | Aneesh Gowda (IND) India | 8:14.45 | Roberto Gomes (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 8:19.10 | Ruan Breytenbach (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 8:20.30 |
| 1500 m freestyle | Righardt Muller (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 15.36.70 | Aneesh Gowda (IND) India | 15:48.89 | Ruan Breytenbach (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 16:03.42 |
| 50 m backstroke | Pieter Coetze (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 24.74 | Jonah Pool-Jones (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 26.32 | Ruard van Renen (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 26.56 |
| 100 m backstroke | Pieter Coetze (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 54.08 | Ruard van Renen (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 57.04 | Liam Vehbi (RSA) Eastern Cape Aquatics | 58.03 |
| 200 m backstroke | Ruan Ras (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:05.03 | Guy Brooks (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 2:05.33 | Utkarsh Santosh Patil (IND) India | 2:07.21 |
| 50 m breaststroke | Michael Houlie (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 27.22 | Brenden Crawford (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni | 28.12 | Joshua Emslie (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 28.98 |
| 100 m breaststroke | Brenden Crawford (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni | 1:01.00 | Michael Houlie (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 1:01.56 | Matthew Randle (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:02.96 |
| 200 m breaststroke | Kian Keylock (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni | 2:14.47 | Matthew Randle (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:14.49 | Ruan Breytenbach (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:16.50 |
| 50 m butterfly | Chad le Clos (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 23.93 | Pieter Coetze (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 24.14 | Matthew Sates (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 24.28 |
| 100 m butterfly | Chad le Clos (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 51.88 | Matthew Sates (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 52.06 | Pieter Coetze (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 53.52 |
| 200 m butterfly | Chad le Clos (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 1:55.75 | Max Litchfield (GBR) Great Britain | 1:57.66 | Ethan du Preez (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 1:59.57 |
| 200 m individual medley | Matthew Sates (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 1:58.37 | Max Litchfield (GBR) Great Britain | 1:59.96 | Kian Keylock (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni | 2:04.52 |
| 400 m individual medley | Max Litchfield (GBR) Great Britain | 4:15.39 | Ruan Breytenbach (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 4:27.14 | Ruan Ras (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 4:27.34 |
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane Pieter Coetze (22.15) | 1:30.75 | KwaZulu-Natal | 1:31.05 | Western Cape Aquatics | 1:31.42 |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | KwaZulu-Natal | 3:22.68 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 3:23.05 | Western Cape Aquatics | 3:24.55 |
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (a-relay) | 7:36.53 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (b-relay) | 7:36.75 | KwaZulu-Natal | 7:41.27 |
| 4×100 m medley relay | Western Cape Aquatics | 3:47.97 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (a-relay) | 3:50.49 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (b-relay) | 3:53.75 |
    $^a$ Coetze swam a FINA "A" cut time of 53.96 seconds in the heats.
    $^b$ Houlie swam a FINA "A" cut time, though was not automatically qualified for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships team as he did not qualify in an Olympic event.
    $^c$ Coetze swam a FINA "A" cut time of 22.15 seconds in the 50 metre freestyle for the lead-off leg of the relay.

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 50 m freestyle | Emma Chelius (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 25.08 | Erin Gallagher (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 25.39 | Aimee Canny (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics Olivia Nel (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 25.62 |
| 100 m freestyle | Aimee Canny (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 54.71 | Erin Gallagher (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 54.73 | Emma Chelius (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 55.70 |
| 200 m freestyle | Aimee Canny (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 1:58.34 | Duné Coetzee (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:00.60 | Erin Gallagher (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:00.72 |
| 400 m freestyle | Duné Coetzee (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 4:12.35 | Michaela Pulford (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni | 4:15.93 | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 4:20.47 |
| 800 m freestyle | Michaela Pulford (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni | 8:46.33 | Catherine van Rensburg (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 8:53.55 | Leigh McMorran (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg | 8:58.50 |
| 1500 m freestyle | Stephanie Houtman (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 16:55.55 | Catherine van Rensburg (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 17:04.28 | Leigh McMorran (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg | 17:08.30 |
| 50 m backstroke | Olivia Nel (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 28.81 | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 28.86 | Kerryn Herbst (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 29.43 |
| 100 m backstroke | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 1:02.55 | Kerryn Herbst (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:02.98 | Olivia Nel (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 1:03.00 |
| 200 m backstroke | Hannah Pearse (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:15.78 | Samantha Randle (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | | Bernelee Doster (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg | |
| 50 m breaststroke | Lara van Niekerk (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 30.60 | Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 30.87 | Kaylene Corbett (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 31.94 |
| 100 m breaststroke | Lara van Niekerk (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:05.67 | Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:06.06 | Kaylene Corbett (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:08.63 |
| 200 m breaststroke | Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:24.01 | Kaylene Corbett (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:24.66 | Emily Visagie (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 2:32.57 |
| 50 m butterfly | Erin Gallagher (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 26.39 | Inge Weidemann (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 27.24 | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 27.35 |
| 100 m butterfly | Erin Gallagher (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 59.78 | Duné Coetzee (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:00.82 | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 1:01.50 |
| 200 m butterfly | Duné Coetzee (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 2:11.88 | Trinity Hearne (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 2:15.46 | Leigh McMorran (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg | 2:17.88 |
| 200 m individual medley | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 2:15.01 | Dakota Tucker (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg | 2:18.26 | Aimee Canny (RSA) Western Cape Aquatics | 2:18.98 |
| 400 m individual medley | Rebecca Meder (RSA) KwaZulu-Natal | 4:49.04 | Samantha Randle (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 4:55.81 | Marlies Ross (RSA) Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 4:56.26 |
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 1:43.45 | Western Cape Aquatics | 1:44.06 | KwaZulu-Natal | 1:44.08 |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | Western Cape Aquatics | 3:46.42 | KwaZulu-Natal | 3:50.11 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 3:54.05 |
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (a-relay) | 8:23.15 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (b-relay) | 8:33.80 | Western Cape Aquatics | 8:37.74 |
| 4×100 m medley relay | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (a-relay) | | Western Cape Aquatics | | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (b-relay) | |

### Mixed

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | Western Cape Aquatics | 3:33.52 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane | 3:35.57 | KwaZulu-Natal | 3:41.69 |
| 4×100 m medley relay | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (a-relay) | 3:54.34 | Western Cape Aquatics | 3:57.22 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (b-relay) | 4:02.73 |

### Medal table

* Host nation (Eastern Cape Aquatics)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Aquatics Guateng Tshwane (RSA) | 19 | 23 | 17 | 59 |
| 2 | Western Cape Aquatics (RSA) | 11 | 7 | 10 | 28 |
| 3 | KwaZulu-Natal (RSA) | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 4 | Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni (RSA) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | India (IND) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg (RSA) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 8 | Eastern Cape Aquatics (RSA)* | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Namibia (NAM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (9 entries) | Totals (9 entries) | 44 | 44 | 45 | 133 |

### Qualification via time trial

The following qualifying time was achieved during a time trial conducted as part of the Championships.
| Event | Name | Time | Date | Day | Qualification meet | Ref |
| 200 m backstroke | Pieter Coetze (RSA) | 1:56.92 | 11 April 2022 | 6 | 2022 World Aquatics Championships, 2022 Commonwealth Games | |

## Records set
### Men

| Event | Stage | Name | Time | Date | Day | Record | Ref |
| 200 m freestyle | Heats | Alexander Skinner (NAM) | 1:52.11 | 7 April 2022 | 2 | Namibian record | |
| 100 m freestyle | Final | Alexander Skinner (NAM) | 50.43 | 8 April 2022 | 3 | Namibian record | |

### Women

| Event | Stage | Name | Time | Date | Day | Record | Ref |
| 50 m breaststroke | Heats | Lara van Niekerk (RSA) | 29.72 | 6 April 2022 | 1 | Commonwealth record, African record, South African record | |

## Broadcast

A live broadcast of day one was aired on YouTube by Swimming South Africa. Days two, three, four, five, and six were streamed live as well. Aired broadcasts were continuous stream format, meaning they covered heats through finals, and were segmented into two videos if exceeding 12 hours in length.

## Participating nations

Athletes from countries including the following participated at the Championships.
* Botswana (BOTS)
* Great Britain (GBR)
* India (IND)
* Mozambique (CDTM)
* Namibia (NAM)
* South Africa (RSA, by region)
* Seychelles (SEY)
* Zambia (ZAM)
* Zimbabwe (ZIM)

### South Africa regional representation

Athletes from South Africa competed on teams by province/region, including the following.
* Ekurhuleni, Gauteng (Aquatics Guateng Ekurhuleni - AGA)
* Johannesburg, Gauteng (Aquatics Guateng Johannesburg - AGB)
* Tshwane, Gauteng (Aquatics Guateng Tshwane - AGC)
* Eastern Cape (Eastern Cape Aquatics - ECA)
* FAAC
* Free State (FSA)
* HAM
* KwaZulu-Natal (KZNA)
* Limpopo (LP)
* Mpumalanga (MPA)
* North West (North West Swimming - NWS)
* Western Cape (Western Cape Aquatics - WCA)

## Incidents

On the morning of the last day of competition, Monday 11 April 2022, 45-year-old security guard Monde Qheru was found dead in the Newton Park Swimming Pool.