Neil Versfeld

Neil Versfeld
Personal information
Full name Neil Robert Versfeld
National team  South Africa
Born (1985-03-29) 29 March 1985
Durban, South Africa
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Breaststroke
Club Seals Swimming Club (RSA)
College team University of Georgia (U.S.)

Neil Robert Versfeld (born March 29, 1985) is a South African swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[1] He is a multiple-time South African champion and record holder for the 200 m breaststroke. Versfeld also set a new World Cup record time of 2:02.56 at the fourth meet of the 2009 FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany.[2]

Versfield swam collegiately for the Georgia Bulldogs (UGA). As a UGA senior in 2008 he won an individual national championship in the 200-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Championships by swimming the fastest time in the history of the event (1:51.40). At UGA Versfeld was a seven-time All-American and graduated as the team record-holder in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay.[3]

Versfeld qualified for the men's 200 m breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by finishing second behind William Diering from the national championships, in a FINA A-standard entry time of 2:12.33.[4] Versfeld posted a ninth fastest time of 2:10.50 in the preliminary heats to secure his spot for the semifinals. His time was just 0.11 of a second off the South African record set by Diering.[5][6] Followed by the next morning's session, Versfeld rebounded a record time to 2:10.06 in his semifinal run, but nearly missed out the final by nine hundredths of a second (0.09).[7]

At the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy, Versfeld dipped under a 2:10 barrier to lower his South African record time to 2:09.61 in the semifinals of the 200 m breaststroke.[8][9]

Versfeld is also a resident athlete of Seals Swimming Club in South Africa, a member of the swimming team for the Georgia Bulldogs, and a graduate of housing and consuming economics at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Neil Versfeld". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "FINA World Cup, Berlin: Sergey Fesikov Sets World Record During Day One Prelims". Swimming World Magazine. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "UGA Swim and Dive Team 2007-2008 Season Review". UGA Athletics Department. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  4. ↑ "South African Championships: Women Down Two African Records". Swimming World Magazine. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Lohn, John (12 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Olympic Record Tumbles Twice, Daniel Gyurta Paces Qualifying in 200 Breast". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Men's 200m Breaststroke Heat 6". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Men's 200m Breaststroke Semifinal 2". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Quiet day for SA swimmers in Rome". IOL Sport. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "2009 FINA World Championships (Rome, Italy) – Men's 200m Breaststroke Semifinals" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.

External links

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