Pieter Coetzé won the 50m backstroke gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday night, with teammate Ruard van Renen taking bronze behind him.
Erin Gallagher took silver in the 50m butterfly to give South Africa three medals for the day and push the tally to six after two days.
The Proteas got their netball campaign off to a winning start with a 65-44 victory over Malawi.
Bowler Wayne Rittmuller suffered his first defeat in the men’s singles competition, going down 0-1 in the tiebreak against Liam Hill of Tonga after the match ended even at 8-5 4-7.
The women’s artistic gymnastics team, starring Olympians Caitlin Rooskrantz and Naveen Daries, that finished fourth at Birmingham 2022, had to settle for fifth on Saturday night behind Australia, Canada, England, and Wales.
Coetzé, 22, was indomitable as he torpedoed across the pool to win in 24.18sec, his third Games record of the meet. He was just one-hundredth of a second off his African mark.
US-based Van Renen was third behind the 100m backstroke world champion in 24.51, just three-hundredths behind England’s silver medallist, Oliver Morgan.
Moments later Gallagher finished second in the women’s 50m butterfly, matching her silver from four years ago as she touched in 25.57 behind Australian Alex Perkins (25.37).
Coetzé, who picked up a 4x100m freestyle bronze on Friday night, is next in action in the 200m backstroke on Sunday.
Calvyn Justus — who made a comeback after he herniated three discs that left him unable to walk for a year between 2022 and 2023 — cruised into Sunday’s 50m freestyle final with a 21.86 personal best, the joint fourth-fastest time of the semifinals.
Justus, a medal-winner at Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018, qualified for the Games at the national championships in April, his first in a decade.
Olivia Nel, who shared the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay bronze with twin Georgia on Friday night, advanced to the 100m backstroke final after finishing third in her semifinal.
Her 1min 00.48sec on Saturday night ranks her fifth overall.
South Africa has held the Games women’s 100m breaststroke crown for two cycles, courtesy of Tatjana Smith and Lara van Niekerk, but it will change hands on Sunday night.
Aimee Canny will have a tough fight to keep it in South African hands, being seeded second behind Scotland’s Angharad Evans.
Chad Le Clos, who became the most decorated male Games athlete on Friday night with his 19th gong, a bronze in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, snuck into Sunday’s 100m butterfly final.
The champion in this event in 2014 and 2018 went 52.35 to clock the eighth-fastest time in the semifinals on Saturday night.
The 34-year-old should have other opportunities to match the overall record of 20 medals held by Australian swimmer Emma McKeon in the medley relays.
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