Erin Gallagher was the only South African in action on the first day of the swimming programme at the Olympic Games in Paris on Saturday.
The 25-year-old finished sixth in her 100m butterfly heat in the morning in a time of 57.80 seconds – quick enough to book her a place in her first ever Olympic semifinal.
Gallagher competed in both the 100m freestyle and butterfly at the last Olympics in Tokyo but didn’t make it past the heats.
Speaking after booking her semifinal place in Paris, Gallagher reckoned: “I don’t remember being nervous. I think I’ve prepared so much, there’s nothing more I could have done in my preparation so I’m very relaxed. I obviously swam a bit slower, but I think that’s normal for a morning swim. I just didn’t feel like I was racing at the Olympics. It was weird.”
Returning in the evening for her semifinal, the Pretoria-based swimmer finished seventh in a time of 57.90 seconds, well off the African record time of 57.32 she set at the SA Championships in Gqeberha earlier this year.
“That was really tough,” said a devasted Gallagher afterwards. “I know I’m more capable than what I just swam and there are always going to be lessons learned. It would just be nice if I didn’t have to learn them at the Olympics.
“But it’s better than what I did in Tokyo. I did everything that I possibly could and that’s what I had tonight.
“It just felt like it’s over so quickly. You don’t really have much time to think. It’s a big privilege to be here, but it’s tough,” added the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist.
Sunday will see three more South Africans taking to the pool at La Défense Arena in the French capital. Tatjana Smith kicks off her Olympic campaign in heat 4 of the 100m breaststroke – the event in which she won silver at the last Games in Tokyo. Her heat is scheduled for 11.36am.
Pieter Coetzé will line up in heat 5 of the 100m backstroke at 11.54am, while Aimee Canny will take to the blocks in heat 4 of the 200m freestyle heats at 12.12pm.
Photo credits: Anton Geyser/TeamSA