World Aquatics Championships: Rebecca Meder lowers SA 200 IM record

Rebecca Meder lowered her own South African record in the women’s 200 IM prelims – the first event of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan on Sunday.

Meder clocked 2:10.95 to shave nearly half a second off her previous national standard en route to the 11th qualifying spot in Sunday’s semi-finals.

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The 20-year-old South African took 0.44 seconds off her previous-best 2:11.39 from the South African Championships in April.

Meder broke Katheryn Meaklim‘s former South African record (2:12.53 from 2009) at last year’s Commonwealth Games with a 2:12.01.

Meder is fast closing in on the overall African record of 2:08.59 set by Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry back in 2008, but she’s still more than two seconds away from that mark.

Only the top 8 swimmers will progress to the final.

American Kate Douglass posted the fastest preliminary time of 2:09.17.

Meder will swim out of Lane 7 in the second semi-final at 14:07 (SA time).

ALSO READ | Team SA gear up for World Aquatics Championships in Japan

SOUTH AFRICA SWIMMING TEAM IN FUKUOKA

Aimee Canny, Emma Chelius, Milla Drakopoulos, Trinity Hearne, Michael Houlie, Clayton Jimmie, Rebecca Meder, Righardt Muller, Tatjana Schoenmaker, Roland Schoeman, Lara van Niekerk