Four South African swimmers have qualified for the Olympic swimming trials in Tokyo. Michael McGlynn and Michelle Webber have won their respective men and women categories at the South African National Open Water Swimming Championships in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape.
Both competed in the 10-kilometre events on Friday.
Michael McGlynn and Michelle Weber defended their 10km titles during Day 01 of the 2021 SA National Open Water Swimming Championships https://t.co/liKDpwWIUT
— ZwemZa (@ZwemZa) March 19, 2021
The two runners-ups, Henre Louw and Stephanie Houtman are also going to the Olympic qualifiers to be held in Tokyo from June 21-28.
McGlynn, who also won the event last year, says he is happy to win the race after seven months of inactivity due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Definitely tired, it was a tough race. The conditions were choppy. A lot choppier than last year which made it a tough race. I am just hoping I pulled it off at the end of the day.”
Meanwhile, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian, Michelle Webber, won the women’s race. She says she is looking forward to the Tokyo trials.
“Most of last year we were in a lockdown, so there was a lot of training, lot of swimming lot of hours. A lot of patience as well, I am not sure whether the games will go ahead, but it seems it’s likely to happen. But’s that amazing, I am glad that my training paid off.”
