Swimming-Schoeman shakes off bug to set 50m pace

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

MELBOURNE, Mar 20 (Reuters) Roland Schoeman, struggling with a flu bug, salvaged pride by setting the pace in men's 50 metres freestyle heats at the Commonwealth Games today.

The South African, who had faded badly to finish with a bronze in the 100m final yesterday, clocked 22.47 seconds with team mate Ryk Neethling fifth quickest in 22.80.

''I'm feeling like death,'' Schoeman, the 50m world champion, told reporters.

Schoeman and Neethling took gold in the men's 4x100m relay and Schoeman won the 50m butterfly title but both have been below after several of South Africa's athletes caught flu.

Welshman David Davies set the quickest time before Tuesday's final of the men's 1,500m freestyle in 15 minutes 21.60 seconds, almost 13 seconds faster than South Africa's Hercules Prinsloo.

Davies was third behind Grant Hackett at the 2004 Olympics and last year's world championships but is a short-odds favourite to win gold in Melbourne in the Australian's absence.

Gold for Davies would snap an Australian winning run in swimming's 'iron man' event at the Commonwealth Games dating back to 1954.

England's Joanne Jackson qualified quickest for the women's 400m freestyle final in 4:11.77.

Scotland's Caitlin McClatchey, aiming to add the 400m title to the 200m gold she won on the opening night, was second fastest in 4:12.35 later on the penultimate day of the six-day Commonwealth games swimming competition.

''I'm feeling a bit run down but I'm putting it aside for the race,'' McClatchey said.

Fellow Scot David Carry kept his bid for a golden treble alive by qualifying eighth fastest for the men's 200m individual medley final in 2:05.04.

Carry won the 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley.

New Zealand's Dean Kent was quickest in the 200m medley in 2:02.65.

Australia's Joanna Fargus was quickest in the women's 200m backstroke in 2:10.84.

REUTERS VJ RAI0720

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