Matthew Sates downed an Olympic champion on his way to landing two golds on the opening day of the Mare Nostrum gala in Barcelona on Wednesday night.
Pieter Coetzé took the country’s only other medal, a bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke.
Sates, winner of four gold medals at the opening Mare Nostrum event in Monaco, set a meet record as he won the 200m freestyle in a 1 min 45.91 sec personal best after out-duelling Britain's Thomas Dean, the champion at the Tokyo Games, and Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan, the 2019 world championship silver medallist.
Dean touched in 1:46.27, more than two seconds slower than his winning effort in Japan, and Matsumoto in 1:46.46.
But there had been nothing in it as they headed into the last lap. “I knew at the last turn I could win,” said Sates, the third-fastest South African of all time in this event, behind Chad le Clos’ 1:45.20 African record and Jean Basson (1:45.67).
Making Sates’ victory even more impressive was that he’d already competed in the 400m individual medley earlier in the evening, comfortably winning that in 4:11.58, less than half-a-second off Sebastien Rousseau’s 4:11.11 national record from 2013.
Sates stormed into the lead early in the opening butterfly leg, and even though he was pushed into third place in the backstroke, the Pietermaritzburg swimmer powered his way back over the breaststroke and freestyle legs to win comfortably in 4:11.58.
Hungary’s David Verraszto, a two-time world championship silver medallist in this event, was second in 4:13.54 and Briton Max Litchfield, fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, third in 4:16.21.
Coetzé finished third in the men’s 100m backstroke, clocking 53.72 behind Olympic medallists Thomas Ceccon of Italy in 53.18 and Japan’s Ryosuke Irie in 53.46.
Le Clos was fifth in the 100m butterfly, finishing in 52.36 in a race where Naoki Mizunuma of Japan downed Hungary’s 200m fly king Kristof Milak, second in 51.51.
SA’s swimmers are scheduled to return to action on Thursday.
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Swimming
Matthew Sates outguns Olympic champion in Barcelona
Image: SUPPLIED
Matthew Sates downed an Olympic champion on his way to landing two golds on the opening day of the Mare Nostrum gala in Barcelona on Wednesday night.
Pieter Coetzé took the country’s only other medal, a bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke.
Sates, winner of four gold medals at the opening Mare Nostrum event in Monaco, set a meet record as he won the 200m freestyle in a 1 min 45.91 sec personal best after out-duelling Britain's Thomas Dean, the champion at the Tokyo Games, and Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan, the 2019 world championship silver medallist.
Dean touched in 1:46.27, more than two seconds slower than his winning effort in Japan, and Matsumoto in 1:46.46.
But there had been nothing in it as they headed into the last lap. “I knew at the last turn I could win,” said Sates, the third-fastest South African of all time in this event, behind Chad le Clos’ 1:45.20 African record and Jean Basson (1:45.67).
Making Sates’ victory even more impressive was that he’d already competed in the 400m individual medley earlier in the evening, comfortably winning that in 4:11.58, less than half-a-second off Sebastien Rousseau’s 4:11.11 national record from 2013.
Sates stormed into the lead early in the opening butterfly leg, and even though he was pushed into third place in the backstroke, the Pietermaritzburg swimmer powered his way back over the breaststroke and freestyle legs to win comfortably in 4:11.58.
Hungary’s David Verraszto, a two-time world championship silver medallist in this event, was second in 4:13.54 and Briton Max Litchfield, fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, third in 4:16.21.
Coetzé finished third in the men’s 100m backstroke, clocking 53.72 behind Olympic medallists Thomas Ceccon of Italy in 53.18 and Japan’s Ryosuke Irie in 53.46.
Le Clos was fifth in the 100m butterfly, finishing in 52.36 in a race where Naoki Mizunuma of Japan downed Hungary’s 200m fly king Kristof Milak, second in 51.51.
SA’s swimmers are scheduled to return to action on Thursday.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
READ MORE
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Sates caps another golden evening for SA swimmers in Monaco
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