Chris Smith comes within touching distance of a record, while his teammates prove SA’s future in swimming is alive and kicking
Singapore (31 July 2025) – South Africa’s Chris Smith might not have taken home a medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Wednesday night, but he certainly took our breath away.
The 19-year-old from Centurion was the lone South African flying the flag in the evening session, earning a spot in his first-ever global long course final, and he made it count. Going up against some of the fastest men on the planet in the 50m breaststroke, Smith held his own in a nail-biting finish that saw the top six swimmers separated by just 0.21 of a second.
Though his start was not the fastest, Smith did not panic. He put his head down and powered through to finish sixth in a quick 26.75 seconds. Shaving a sliver off his personal best from the semifinals. That time now puts him just 0.21 seconds away from breaking Cameron van der Burgh’s longstanding South African and African record. Not bad company to be in!
The gold medal went to Italy’s Simone Cerasuolo in 26.54, with Russian Kirill Prigoda and China’s Haiyang Qin rounding off the podium.
While Smith made waves, the rest of the South African team was busy making a splash of their own.
Erin Gallagher turned heads by winning her heat in the 100m freestyle with a pacey 55.01. Though her overall placing (27th) did not take her to the semis, it was a sprint that showed she still has that spark.
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And talk about commitment! Rebecca Meder celebrated her birthday by diving headfirst into competition. She raced in the 200m breaststroke, finishing sixth in her heat (24th overall).
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Meanwhile, Pieter Coetzé swam the 200m backstroke heats, finishing with a 1:57.11, good enough to sneak into the semifinals in 16th place.
With the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team also gearing up, South Africa’s swimmers continue to show serious power on the global stage.
Keep your goggles on, because this wave of talent is only getting started.
Sources: Swimming South Africa
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