May 8, 2009
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Current Arizona Wildcat Jean Basson has been chosen to represent South Africa during the FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy from July 17-August 2.
Basson, who won the 500 freestyle NCAA individual crown in March, was named to the 21-person roster today. Joining Basson on the South African team will be former Wildcats Lyndon Ferns, Roland Schoeman and Darian Townsend.
Ferns, Schoeman, Townsend and Wildcat legend Ryk Neethling combined to win gold in the 4 x 100 meter relay during the Athens Olympics in 2004.
"Following the highly successful Telkom SA National Aquatics Championships held in Durban last month, Swimming SA is proud to be able to send a full-strength national team to represent SA at the FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy and looks forward to seeing our athletes producing world class performances as we continue to build our country's reputation of being a leading swimming nation on the world map," said Swimming SA CEO, Shaun Adriaanse.
Basson will swim the 200m and 400m freestyle events. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Basson placed fourth overall in the 200m freestyle.
Schoeman and Ferns will compete in sprint freestyle events for South Africa while Townsend will be on display in the 100m butterfly and 200 individual medley.
Name Province Events
Men:
Jean Basson 200m & 400m freestyle
William Diering 200m breaststroke
George du Rand 100m and 200m backstroke
Lyndon Ferns 50m & 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly
Chad le Clos 400m individual medley
Thabang Moeketsane 50m & 100m breaststroke
Graeme Moore 50m butterfly
Darren Murray 200m backstroke
Sebastien Rousseau 200m butterfly
Riaan Schoeman 200m & 400m individual medley
Roland Schoeman 50m & 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly
Darian Townsend 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley
Cameron van der Burgh 50m & 100m breaststroke
Charl van Zyl 50m backstroke
Jasper Venter 200m freestyle
Neil Versfeld 200m breaststroke
Gerhard Zandberg 50m backstroke
Women:
Kathryn Meaklim 200m & 400m individual medley
Jessica Pengelly 200m & 400m individual medley
Wendy Trott 800m & 1500m freestyle
Chanelle van Wyk 50m backstroke
