2024 South African Championships (Olympic Trials)
The 2024 South African Swimming Championships concluded yesterday with a six-day competition representing the country's Olympic trials.
During the competition, several swimmers were seen clocking qualifying times for the World Aquatics Olympics, but this is not their only chance to be selected for Paris 2024.
According to the South African Swimming Championships selection policy linked above, swimmers can earn an 'A' cut at World Aquatics sanctioned competitions during the qualifying period from March 1, 2023 to June 24, 2024. can.
Important points mentioned in the qualification document are:
- Athletes who place 1st and 2nd in the Olympic Games Trial Finals will be eligible for selection if they earn an “A” cut.
- If one or both of the top two finalists fail to make the 'A' cut, the athlete with the fastest 'A' time in their heat will be considered.
- If at the end of the trials, there are no two athletes who have earned an “A” cut in a particular Olympic event, then athletes who achieved the standard during the qualifying period at a World Aquatics sanctioned event may be considered.
- However, these times will only be considered if the athlete was a finalist in that event at the Olympic Trials.
- Additionally, if an athlete swims an “A” cut faster in a sanctioned event other than the Trials, that athlete will not be given priority over an athlete who achieved an “A” cut at the Trials.
With these regulations in mind, here is the publication's list of South Africa's Olympic qualifiers.
2024 South African Championships (Olympic Trials) Qualifiers
Qualifying for World Aquatics Official Tournaments (other than the above)
- Rebecca Mader – Women’s 200m IM (2:10.95, 2023 World Championship Qualifier)
- chad le clos – Men’s 100m fly (51.48, 2024 World Championships)
- Matt Seitz – Men’s 100m fly (51.66, 2023 World Cup Budapest), 200m fly (1:55.25, 2023 World Cup Budapest), 200m IM (1:57.72, 2023 World Cup Budapest)
It should be noted that rebecca mader In the heat of the 2023 World Championships, he achieved an “A” cut of 2:10.95 in the 200m IM. However, at her Olympic trials, Mader was still recovering from a ruptured appendix, so she only competed in the women's 50 meter back, a non-Olympic event.
As previously mentioned, South African Swimming's selection policy states that non-trial times will only be considered if the athlete was a finalist in a particular event at the trials. Mader did not swim the 200m IM at the trials, so a literal interpretation would disqualify her.
However, most countries have an “extenuating circumstances” clause in their selection policies. Although it is not explicitly included in South African Swimming, that does not mean Mader's situation may not allow him to be granted a reprieve from the stricter policy.
