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Swimming

Sensational Matthew Sates bags his seventh gold in seven races in Europe

David Isaacson Sports reporter
Matthew Sates in action at the World Cup in Doha last year.
Matthew Sates in action at the World Cup in Doha last year.
Image: MOHAMMED FARAJ

Matthew Sates continued his European tour unbeaten on Thursday as he added gold in the 200m individual medley for his seventh victory of the Mare Nostrum series.

Sates, with four wins in Monaco at the weekend and two on the opening day in Barcelona on Wednesday, was in fine form again on Thursday as he hammered Olympic bronze medallist Jeremy Desplanches of Switzerland by almost two seconds. 

The South African phenomenon, who clocked 1:58.31, scratched from the men’s 400m freestyle, which was held just minutes later. 

Pieter Coetzee picked up two silver medals in the men’s 200m and 50m backstroke races. He finished second in 1:57.85 in the men’s 200m backstroke behind Olympic bronze medallist Luke Greenbank of England in 1:56.88. Hungarian Adam Telegdy, fifth in Tokyo, was third. 

In the 50m race Coetze went 24.78 as he lost out to American Michael Andrew (24.64), whose parents are South African expats. 

Lara van Niekerk took silver in the women’s 50m breaststroke in 30.35, behind German Anna Elendt in 30.10. 

Chad le Clos went out hard in the 200m butterfly, but he had to settle for fourth, touching in 1:56.38 behind Olympic champion Kristof Milak of Hungary, who went 1:53.89 to break the South African’s series record. 

Noe Ponti of Switzerland was second in 1:56.03 and Leonardo de Deus of Brazil third in 1:56.18. 

The series moves to France for the final third gala at the weekend.

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