Veteran Roland Schoeman will have the 50m butterfly to himself at the national championships in Durban next week with Chad le Clos opting to sit this one out.
Schoeman has beaten Le Clos in the one-lap fly race over the past two years, although his advantage has been shrinking.
The 34-year-old will be the favourite in the 50m fly and 50m freestyle, where he first achieved world-class times in 1999.
But in the 100m freestyle defending champion Le Clos will start as the favourite, leaving Schoeman as one of several underdogs battling for spots on the SA 4x100m freestyle relay team.
Schoeman, the sole survivor of the SA relay team at the 2000 Olympics, is aware of the youthful competition.
"The sprint events are more stacked than ever so racing will be tough," he said from the US yesterday.
If Le Clos lives up to his billing as favourite, the minor placings will be contested between Schoeman, Leith Shankland, Myles Brown, Clayton Jimmie and Caydon Muller.
Schoeman is downplaying his ambitions ahead of the SA championships.
"I'm not going in with too many expectations this time round. I obviously want to swim as fast as I can, but I'm just going to be happy to be home and racing in Durban again."
But he is still eyeing silverware at the world championships in Russia later this year.
"2015 is an important year leading into the Olympics so I obviously want to perform well . I'm just looking to put myself back into a position where I can compete for medals."
Schoeman, who has been racing in short-course events for the past six months, competed in his first long-course race this past weekend - clocking 22.51 in the 50m freestyle, nearly a second slower than his personal best.
Schoeman favoured to win 50m fly, freestyle
Veteran Roland Schoeman will have the 50m butterfly to himself at the national championships in Durban next week with Chad le Clos opting to sit this one out.
Schoeman has beaten Le Clos in the one-lap fly race over the past two years, although his advantage has been shrinking.
The 34-year-old will be the favourite in the 50m fly and 50m freestyle, where he first achieved world-class times in 1999.
But in the 100m freestyle defending champion Le Clos will start as the favourite, leaving Schoeman as one of several underdogs battling for spots on the SA 4x100m freestyle relay team.
Schoeman, the sole survivor of the SA relay team at the 2000 Olympics, is aware of the youthful competition.
"The sprint events are more stacked than ever so racing will be tough," he said from the US yesterday.
If Le Clos lives up to his billing as favourite, the minor placings will be contested between Schoeman, Leith Shankland, Myles Brown, Clayton Jimmie and Caydon Muller.
Schoeman is downplaying his ambitions ahead of the SA championships.
"I'm not going in with too many expectations this time round. I obviously want to swim as fast as I can, but I'm just going to be happy to be home and racing in Durban again."
But he is still eyeing silverware at the world championships in Russia later this year.
"2015 is an important year leading into the Olympics so I obviously want to perform well . I'm just looking to put myself back into a position where I can compete for medals."
Schoeman, who has been racing in short-course events for the past six months, competed in his first long-course race this past weekend - clocking 22.51 in the 50m freestyle, nearly a second slower than his personal best.
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