Wantenaar makes Namibian swimming history

Ronan Wantenaar made history on Monday when he became the first Namibian swimmer to qualify for a final at the Commonwealth Games.

On Sunday, he came second in his first round heat in 27.13 seconds to progress to the semi-finals, in which he came third in 27.21 to make it through to the final.

That was also the fifth-fastest semi-final time and put him in contention for a medal, but competing against some of the world’s top swimmers in the final he had to settle for sixth place in 27.31.

Sam Williamson of Australia, who had earlier won gold in the 100m breaststroke, won his second gold medal in a time of 26.50, while South Africa’s Michael Houlie won silver in 26.77 and Adam Ramsay-Peaty of England bronze in 26.94.

Wantenaar’s time was well off his personal best and national record time of 26.85 and he says he is quite disappointed with his performance.