By Razeen Gutta
Pieter Coetze, Kaylene Corbett and Tatjana Smith all finished second on Wednesday night to progress to the finals of their respective categories.
With the third fastest time of the two heats, Coetze finished the second 200 metre backstroke semi-final in 1:56.09.
After his fifth placed finish in Monday’s 100 metre backstroke final, the South African came in behind Roman Mityukov from Switzerland to book his place in yet another medal race.
The final takes place on Thursday at 20:38.
In the women’s 200 metre breaststroke semi-finals, both Corbett and Smith claimed second place finishes.
Corbett was brilliant in the final 50 metres as she finished with a time of 2:22.87 behind Netherland’s Tes Schouten in semi-final one.
In the second semi, defending Olympic champion Smith was in fine form yet again.
Coming off the back of a gold medal win in the 100 metre race earlier this week, the 28-year-old will have her sights set on an historic double.
Smith finished behind only America’s Kate Douglass as the pair battled it out until the very end.
Should Smith bag gold again, she will become the first South African in history to ever defend an Olympic title.
The final takes place on Thursday at 21:11.
In Olympic tennis, Rafa Nadal’s Games came to end as the all-time great exited the Court Philippe-Chatrier after doubles defeat alongside partner Carlos Alcaraz.
The dream pair, fondly called “Nadalcaraz” by fans, were dealt a crushing blow as USA’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat them 6-2, 6-4.
The result follows Nadal’s singles defeat to Novak Djokovic on Monday, with the Spaniard set to make a decision on his future soon.
Alcaraz’s performances in singles competition continues to remain strong as he became the youngest player book his place in the quarter finals since the Beijing Games in 2008.
The 21-year-old knocked aside Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-2 to keep a potential final showdown with Djokovic on the cards.
The quarter finals will take place on Thursday before the medal matches on Saturday and Sunday.
Pictured above: Tatjana Smith and Kaylene Corbett
Source: @jamani_khanyi
