Swimming fans were treated to some sparkling performances by Olympic hopefuls at the Swimming Grand Prix held at Coetzenburg this weekend.

Some of the highlights of the event included unofficial Olympic qualifying times by Olympian Chad le Clos and Tuks Swimming's Tatjana Schoenmaker as well as a new South African junior record in the 1500m freestyle by 17-year-old Matthew Meyer from KwaZulu-Natal.

Meyer broke Matie and Olympic swimmer Heerden Herman's South African age group record and came within two seconds of the Olympic qualifying time. Most of the venue records were also improved on.

With the Olympic Games drawing nearer, local swimmers used the fourth and last leg of the Swimming Grand Prix series to prepare for the SA National Aquatic Championships in April. The national championships will serve as the only qualification opportunity for the Olympic Games in Rio.

It is the second time that a Grand Prix event was hosted in Coetzenburg's state-of-the-art Olympic-size swimming pool. Several international swimmers from countries such as Great Britain, Denmark, Slovakia and Eqypt also took part.

Le Clos, who won all four events he participated in – the 200m butterfly and 200m, 100m and 50m freestyle – enjoyed swimming in front of the Stellenbosch crowd and said this event is his favourite leg of the Grand Prix series.

He was very satisfied with his performances, especially in the freestyle races at the Grand Prix.

"My times were right on the Olympic times which I'm very happy about," he said. "Thank you to everyone who came out to support the swimmers. I'll be working really hard to do everybody proud at the Olympics."

Van der Burgh, who participated in Stellenbosch for the first time, won the 50m breast stroke event and came second to team mate Jarred Crous in the 100m breast stroke.

"My performances were a bit slower than I had hope for but it is quite difficult for me to swim fast when I'm training quite hard. In the bigger picture were looking at the Olympic Games and doing a lot of long-distance aerobic work. I'm only looking to peak in August."

He added that it had been a great opportunity to race the guys at their best and described the Coetzenburg pool as one of the best pools in South Africa.

He had also enjoyed the town and the spectators.

The crowd appreciated their presence and many people took the opportunity to have a photograph taken with either of the swimmers or to get an autograph.

Paralympian Kevin Paul also participated in a couple of events and said the facilities were world-class.

"It's so much easier to get on the blocks, race well and put in a good time when you're in a facility like this with people supporting you," he added.

Pierre de Roubaix, head coach for swimming at Stellenbosch University, said it had been an honour to host this International event in collaboration with WP Aquatics and Swimming South Africa.

"We're delighted that well-known swimmers such as Chad and Cameron as well as a number of Olympic-level international teams took part. To see this many Olympians and Olympic champions in Stellenbosch was a rare opportunity."