Lara van Niekerk

All you need to know about teenager Lara van Niekerk, who shattered records in the early stages of her Commonwealth Games campaign.

At the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest earlier this month, she showed her impressive BMT once again by grabbing the bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke final. She bagged five medals (including four gold) at the 2017 African Junior Championships in Cairo, at the age of 13, and the following year she secured four golds at the African Championships in Algiers, competing against senior opposition. In Birmingham this week, she displayed her top-flight potential once again by breaking the Commonwealth Games record in the heats (29.82) and semifinals (29.80). Van Niekerk’s 50m and 100m gold medals at this year’s national championships were made even more impressive by the quality of the opposition she beat. Last season, she broke the African short-course 50m breaststroke record, touching the wall in 29.85 at the SA Short-Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg, and she went on to set a new long-course continental 50m mark of 29.88 at the Northern Tigers Championships in Pretoria in December. At the national championships in Gqeberha in April, she broke her own long-course record, stopping the clock at 29.72.

Lara van Niekerk has won South Africa's first gold medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the women's 50m breaststroke.

Lara van Niekerk has won South Africa’s first gold medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the women’s 50m breaststroke. Lara van Niekerk has won South Africa’s first gold medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the women’s 50m breaststroke. Lara van Niekerk has won South Africa’s first gold medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the women’s 50m breaststroke.

South African teen sensation Lara van Niekerk has won South Africa's first medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022, in Birmingham, England… and it's GOLD.

— Team South Africa (@TeamSA2024)July 30, 2022 The past few months have given me a lot of confidence going into races, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.” SA’s Olympic medallist Tatjana Schoenmaker finished fourth, and Kaylene Corbett sixth.

Star SA swimmer Lara van Niekerk charged up on the rest of the field to clinch the gold medal in a new Commonwealth Games in the 50m breaststroke.

- Blitzboks rout Malaysia in Commonwealth Games opener - Solid start for Tatjana Schoenmaker as Lara van Niekerk glides through the water to set new Games record - Lara van Niekerk breaks own Commonwealth Games record again

A pair of rising South African teenage star swimmers won the country's first men's and women's medals of the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Friday evening, ...

That policy likely prevented at least one of these events from being filled: Jonty Skinner set a World Record in both the 50 free and 100 free in 1976, but was barred from competing at the 1974 or 1978 Commonwealth Games. - Women’s 400 free - Women’s 50 free

Lara van Niekerk talks about breaking the Commonwealth Games record in the 50m breaststroke twice in one day. Theta Sports.

It leaves Sates with a busy night of finals action. Sates, who came 6th in the 400m freestyle final on Friday, booked his spot in the 200m distance on Saturday morning when he came 2nd in his heat. The final will present South Africa’s first clear shot at a gold medal at the Games, but results on Saturday morning made for pleasant reading as Matthew Sates, in particular, continued his impressive run.