Neil Robert Versfeld (born March 29, 1985) is a South African swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He finished ninth with a superb South African record in the men's 200 m breaststroke at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and has claimed multiple South African championship titles in the 50, 100, and 200 m breaststroke. Versfield swam collegiately for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(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. Versfeld competed for the South African swimming team in the men's 200 m breaststroke at the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He finished second behind

William Diering William Grant Diering (born 7 May 1986) is a South African swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He finished twelfth in the 200 m breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and also set a new South African record (2:06.85) to earn a br ...

with a 2:12.33 at the South African Championships four months earlier in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

to assure his selection to the Olympic team under FINA A-standard (2:13.70). 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. At the

2009 FINA World Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

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.

References

External links

Player Bio – Georgia Bulldogs
1985 births Living people South African male swimmers Olympic swimmers for South Africa Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for South Africa Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Male breaststroke swimmers Sportspeople from Durban Georgia Bulldogs men's swimmers African Games gold medalists for South Africa African Games medalists in swimming African Games silver medalists for South Africa African Games bronze medalists for South Africa Competitors at the 2003 All-Africa Games {{SouthAfrica-swimming-bio-stub

See also

References

External links