Douglas Erasmus

Douglas John Erasmus (born 4 April 1990) is a South African swimmer who qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Douglas Erasmus
Personal information
Full nameDouglas John Erasmus
NationalitySouth African
Born (1990-04-04) 4 April 1990
Benoni, South Africa
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Country South Africa
SportSwimming

Personal life

Erasmus is studying for a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) degree in marketing at the University of Pretoria.[2]

Swimming

Erasmus is coached by Igor Omeltchenko in Pretoria.[3] He competed at the 2013 Summer Universiade games held in Kazan, Russia, reaching the semifinals of the 50 metre freestyle.[4] At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, he raced in the 50 metre freestyle, 100 metre freestyle, the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, and the 4 × 100 metre medley relay. He was eliminated in the heats of both individual events.[5][6] In both relays, he was part of South African quartets that finished seventh.[7][8] During the meet, he injured his shoulder, which resulted in him missing four months of competition.[3]

His results at the 2015 South African National Championships qualified him for the 2015 Summer Universiade games held in Gwangju, South Korea, in the 50 and 100 metre freestyle events.[9] He advanced from the heats in both events but was eliminated in the semifinals, having placed seventh in the 50 metres race and eighth in the 100 metres.[10][11] He represented South Africa at the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, winning gold medals in the 50 metre freestyle and the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay.[3]

At the 2016 South Africa Swimming Championships and Olympic trials, Erasmus was the fastest of over 100 competitors in the heats of the 100 metres freestyle event, setting a new personal best of 49.54 seconds. In the semifinals, he won his race in a time of 49.85 seconds.[12] He eventually finished third in the final behind Calvyn Justus and Myles Brown.[13] In the 50 metre freestyle event, Erasmus finished his heat in 22.26 seconds, one-hundredth of a second faster than the Olympic qualification standard.[14][15] He finished second in the final behind Brad Tandy in a time of 22.55 seconds but ahead of four-time Olympian Roland Schoeman.[16][17]

In May 2016, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) named him as part of the South African team for the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he competed in the men's 50 metre freestyle event.[18] He finished 29th in the heats with a time of 22.37 seconds and did not qualify for the semifinals.[19]

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References
  1. "Douglas Erasmus". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  2. "Biography Overview Erasmus Douglas John". Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  3. Etheridge, Mark (26 April 2016). "The only way is up as Doug does the job for Rio 2016". SASCOC. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  4. "Athletes / Erasmus Douglas John". 27th Summer Universiade Kazan 2013 Official Website. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  5. "Results of the 50-metre freestyle heats at 2014 Pan Pacific". Australia Swimming. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  6. "Results of the 100-metre freestyle heats at 2014 Pan Pacific". Australia Swimming. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  7. "Results of the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay finals at 2014 Pan Pacific". Australia Swimming. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  8. "Results of the 4 × 100 metre medley relay finals at 2014 Pan Pacific". Australia Swimming. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  9. "Erasmus to make a splash at World Student Games". University of Pretoria. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  10. "Swimming Results Men's 50m Freestyle Semi Final 1". Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  11. "Swimming Results Men's 100m Freestyle Semi Final 1". Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  12. De Villiers, Ockert (14 April 2016). "Struggle for 100m freestyle swimmers". Independent Online. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  13. "2016 South African Nationals: Day 5 Finals Live Recap". swimmingworldmagazine.com. Swimming World Magazine. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  14. De Villiers, Ockert (15 April 2016). "Fight for Olympic places hots up". Independent Online. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  15. Etheridge, Mark. "South Africa: The Only Way Is Up As Doug Does the Job for Rio 2016". allafrica.com. South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  16. De Villiers, Ockert (17 April 2016). "Schoeman laments missing Rio". Independent Online. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  17. "Brad Tandy Wins 50 Free in 22.13, Roland Schoeman Misses 5th Olympic Games". swimmingworldmagazine.com. Swimming World Magazine. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  18. Mothowagae, Daniel (26 May 2016). "SA names first Rio batch". The Sowetan. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  19. "Rio 2016". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
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