William Diering
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Grant Diering
National team South Africa
Born (1986-05-07) 7 May 1986
Sandton, Gauteng, South Africa
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClubTuksSport
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing South Africa
World Championships (SC)
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Manchester200 m breaststroke
All-Africa Games
Silver medal – second place 2007 Algiers 200 m breaststroke

William Grant Diering (born 7 May 1986) is a South African swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[1] 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 bronze medal at the FINA World Short Course Championships few months later in Manchester, England.[2]

Diering competed for the South African swimming squad, alongside his teammate Neil Versfeld, in the men's 200 m breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Leading up to the Games, he captured the men's 200 m breaststroke title at the South African Championships in Johannesburg with a new national record of 2:11.88 to assure his selection to the Olympic team under the FINA A-cut (2:13.70) and shave 1.72 seconds off the standard previously set by Terence Parkin in 2000.[3][4] Swimming in heat six, Diering threw down a new African record in 2:10.39 to grab the eighth seed for the semifinals, and then enjoyed his teammate Versfeld joining him to the roster by 0.11 seconds to round out the top four of their heat.[5][6] Followed by the next morning's semifinals, Diering missed the top eight final with a twelfth-place time in 2:10.21, and lost a spirited challenge for another African record feat to Versfeld (2:10.06) by just a small fraction of a second.[7]

Shortly after the Olympics, Diering edged out Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli by nearly two seconds to claim the 200 m breaststroke title at the African Swimming Championships in Johannesburg with a time of 2:16.00.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "William Diering". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "World Short Course Championships: Great Britain's Kristopher Gilchrist Wins 200 Breast". Swimming World Magazine. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "South African Championships: William Diering, Lize-Mari Retief Break African Records". Swimming World Magazine. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Ballantyne, Tommy (7 April 2008). "Schoeman packs his bags". Post (South Africa). 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. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Men's 200m Breaststroke Heat 6". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Men's 200m Breaststroke Semifinal 2". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "African Championships: William Diering Claims 200 Breast Title". Swimming World Magazine. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2012.


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