There is plenty of work to be done if South African swimmers hope to step on the podium at next year’s London Olympics, according to breaststroke star Cameron van der Burgh.
The national team returned on Tuesday from the Fina World Championships in Shanghai, China where they finished a lowly 25th on the table with three bronze medals — two courtesy of Van der Burgh and one through Gerhard Zandberg in the 50m backstroke.
“We wanted to do a lot better,” Van der Burgh said.
“Bronze medals are nice, but they’re a bit like kissing your sister –there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s nothing to shout about.
“We’ll keep working hard at it, though, in preparation for next year.”
South Africa did not secure a single medal in the pool at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and after picking up 12 medals in able-bodied events at last year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Van der Burgh said the global championships had brought the national squad back down to Earth.
“The reality is that, while everybody did so well at the Commonwealth Games, that’s a lot easier than the world championships or the Olympics,” he said.
“I think it was a big wake-up call for some of the guys.”
Van der Burgh, the 50m breaststroke world record holder, said he had focused this season on the 100m event because the shorter race would not be on the Olympic schedule.
And while he failed to defend his title in the 50m event, finishing third, he managed to repeat the bronze he won in the 100m in Rome two years ago, and was confident of his chances in London.
“I think in the 100m I had a good time and placing,” Van der Burgh said.
“There’s a small contingent that are capable of winning gold next year and I think I’ve earned my place in that contingent.
“I’ve always felt that if you’re not in it this year, then you’re not really in with a chance next year, so in that sense it was mission accomplished.
“I wasn’t too pleased with the result in the 50m, as the defending champion, but I’ve been working so hard on the 100m for next year that I probably neglected the 50m a little bit.”
Van der Burgh said he would rest this week and not compete in the SA Short Course Championships which start in Johannesburg on Saturday.
His next assignment was a trip to London later this month with the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) to assess conditions and facilities in the English capital.
“I’m going to take a week off because the short course champs are not qualifiers for anything this year,” he said.
“There are a small group of us going to London on the 28th [of August] with Sascoc to see the new pool and familiarise ourselves with the facilities, the athletes’ village and that sort of thing.
“The Olympics can be quite intimidating, especially for the guys who haven’t been before, so it should be great for us to get over there and have a look.” — Sapa