WEDNESDAY, 1.00PM:
SOUTH AFRICA’S Theo Verster and Renate du Plessis broke South African and African records on the third day of the Pan Pacific swimming championships in Fukouka, Japan on Tuesday.
Verster finished eighth in the men’s 100m butterfly final with a time of 54,58sec, just above his own national and African record of 52,22sec.
In the women’s 100m butterfly heat Renate du Plessis finished fourth with a time of 1min 02,10sec, just under Amanda Loots’ South African and African mark of 1min 02,43sec. She then finished fourth in the final in 1min 02,60sec.
Meanhwile, Ryk Neethling booked a place in the national team for the 1998 World Championships after finishing sixth in the men’s 400m freestyle final, clocking 3min 54,34sec.
SPORT BRIEFS
BRITS EYES JAPANSOUTH African pole vaulter Okkert Brits hopes to recover from an injury he suffered in Athens in time to compete in the athletics Grand Prix finals in Japan next month. Coach Joep Loots said on Tuesday an examination in Zurich showed that Brits’s left ankle bone was bruised.
SKI PRODIGY VICTORIOUS FOURTEEN-year-old Nadine de Villiers of South Africa won the jump and slalom events in barefoot waterskiing at the World Games in Lahti, Finland and came fourth in the tricks at the weekend.
THESE WOMEN ARE BATS SOUTH AFRICA’S women’s cricket team beat the English under-23 XI by five runs in a 50-over clash in England on Tuesday — their fourth straight victory on tour. The South Africans scored 178/7 and then restricted their opponents to 173/4.
BABY JAKE GETS HIS BELTINTERNATIONAL Boxing Association (IBA) junior-flyweight champion Baby Jake Matlala has finally received his IBA belt he won from Michael Carbajal last month. Sports and recreation director Mthobi Tyamzashe presented the trophy to Matlala in Pretoria on Tuesday.
KRUGER OUT SOUTH AFRICA’S Joannette Kruger is out of the Du Maurier Open women’s tennis tournament after losing to Mary Joe Fernandez 6-4 7-5 in Toronto, Canada on Monday
FREE STATE CONSIDERS THE Free State Rugby Union will meet on Wednesday night in Bloemfontein to decide whether to support Natal’s action against regionalisation of next year’s Super 12 rugby competition. Natal claims that if the regionalisation goes ahead they could lose their kit sponsor Reebok and their Canon sponsorship. FSRU president Harold Verster said they also could lose their team sponsor Minolta.