Neil Versfeld
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Robert Versfeld |
| National team | File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa |
| Born | 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 |
| College team | University of Georgia (U.S.) |
| Coach | Jack Bauerle (U.S.) |
Neil Robert Versfeld (born March 29, 1985) is a South African swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[1] He finished ninth with a superb South African record in the men's 200 m breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has claimed multiple South African championship titles in the 50, 100, and 200 m breaststroke.
Versfield swam collegiately for the Georgia Bulldogs at the University of Georgia (UGA). As a UGA senior in 2009, 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.[2]
Versfeld competed for the South African swimming team in the men's 200 m breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He finished second behind William Diering with a 2:12.33 at the South African Championships four months earlier in Johannesburg to assure his selection to the Olympic team under FINA A-standard (2:13.70).[3] Having entered the semifinals with the ninth-seeded time (2:10.50), Versfeld rebounded from his immediate defeat in the prelims to subdue a new African record in 2:10.06, but narrowly missed the top eight final by just 0.09 of a second. His ninth-place time also slashed 0.15 seconds off the continental mark, set by Diering in the initial half of the semifinal round.[4][5]
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.[6][7]
See also
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References
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External links
[edit | edit source]
- 1985 births
- Living people
- Olympic swimmers for South Africa
- Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games swimmers for South Africa
- Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- South African male breaststroke swimmers
- Swimmers from Durban
- Georgia Bulldogs men's swimmers
- South African expatriate swimmers in the United States
- African Games gold medalists for South Africa
- African Games silver medalists for South Africa
- African Games bronze medalists for South Africa
- Swimmers at the 2003 All-Africa Games
- 21st-century South African sportsmen
- African Games bronze medalists in swimming
- African Games silver medalists in swimming
- African Games gold medalists in swimming
- South African swimming biography stubs