World record holder Cameron van der Burgh was the fastest qualifier in the men’s 50m breaststroke semifinal on Tuesday as he went in search of his second medal at the Fina World Championships in Shanghai, China.
Van der Burgh — who won bronze in the 100m breaststroke final on Monday — clocked 26.90 seconds to hold off Brazil’s Felipe Franca da Silva in the faster of the two 50m semifinals.
The South African cemented his status as favourite for the title he won in Rome two years ago, setting the pace ahead of Wednesday night’s final.
Fellow South African Wendy Trott was sixth in the women’s 1Â 500m freestyle final.
Trott started fast, turning after the first length in third place but soon faded behind and held on to finish in 16 minutes, 6.02 seconds (16:06.02).
Lotte Friis of Denmark won comfortably to secure gold in 15:45.59.
Chad Ho, the only other South African competing in Tuesday’s evening session, booked his place in the men’s 200m butterfly final.
Ho — who clocked 1:55.56, was seventh fastest of the qualifiers and was set to face a strong field in the final — including US Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
South Africa were in 20th place on the medals table — tied with Hungary, Japan and the Ukraine — with Van der Burgh’s lone bronze. — Sapa