By GARY LEMKE in Swakopmund
Morgan Cope made it a full house of breaststroke gold medals at the Region 5 Games in Windhoek and afterwards played down any suggestion that she’s the next big thing in South African breaststroke swimming.
The 19-year-old is a late arrival on the scene, having only started the sport in 2021, and she admits that every swim is a learning experience. “It’s just that. I’m enjoying being part of the Team SA squad at theese Games but I’m learning through competing.”
However, she is sure to understand the conveyor belt of champions that South African women’s breaststroke swimming has produced. It started with Penny Heyns, then Sarah Poewe, Suzaan van Biljon, Tatjana Schoenmaker, Lara van Niekerk and the previous Region 5 Games star, Simone Moll.
Therefore, by winning the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke in Namibia it ahs set tongues wagging. On Monday night she and Georgia Els were involved in a titanic struggle for the first 175m of this short-course (25m) pool, before the taller Cope pulled clear in the final 25m to touch in 2min 30.42sec.
“This was definitely the toughest of the three golds,” she said afterwards. “Being the hardest it’s probably the most satisfying to me. My best swim though would have been the 100m where my time surprised me and would have to be the best performance of mine here. And the 50m, well, that’s my favourite race.”
Cope then helped the Team SA 4x50m freestyle relay squad to the silver medal behind Zimbabwe, and for Indiana de Villiers it was yet another silver. It was her third runners-up spot of the night, but that nudged her up to eight medals for these Games, which is the most of any Team SA member.
On the penultimate day of action in the pool at The Dome, Team SA racked up 13 medals – four gold, seven silver, two bronze – to make it 38 from swimming after three days. They will add to that tally on Tuesday.
Georgia Els moved her medals tally to seven with a silver and bronze on Monday, while Josh Esterhuyzen boosted his tally to six after two golds – the first in a blink-and-you’d-miss-it win over Tumelo Mahan in the 50m freestyle, and the second in anchoring Team SA’s boys to a 4x100m medley relay win.
“I’m very happy with this,” he said after holding off Mahan 22.97 to 23.08. “That equals my personal best so all’s good!”
Elsewhere, Kaitlynne Horne (pictured) secured Team SA’s other gold on ghe night shwn she opened proceedings with a win in teh 400m freestyle, hitting the front after 100m and stretching further and further away from the chasers, to touch the wall in 4:22.99.
Photo: ROGER SEDRES
