Cameron van der Burgh, Gerhard Zandberg and Mandy Loots took their preparations for the Beijing Olympics to a different level as the SA swimming team made their presence felt on the second day of the Open EDF de Natation gala in Paris, France on Wednesday.

Pretoria-based van der Burgh took the gold medal in the 50 metres breaststroke by clocking a speedy 27.80 secs, while Gerhard Zandberg placed third in the 100 metres backstroke final in 56.26, the South African Press Association reported.

Two-time Olympian Mandy Loots claimed silver in the 100 metres butterfly, finishing in 59.33 while Capetonian Wendy Trott booked her place in the 800 metres freestyle final, in coming through the morning qualifier in 8:24.48.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2008)