With the Olympic Games drawing nearer, South African swimming heroes Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh will use the Swimming Grand Prix to be held at Coetzenburg from 26-28 February as preparation for the SA National Aquatic Championships in April.

The national championships will serve as a qualification event for the Olympic Games in Rio.

It is the second time that a Grand Prix event will be hosted in Coetzenburg's state-of-the-art Olympic size swimming pool.

Chad le Clos, who won all four events he participated in last year – the 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 200m backstroke and 50m butterfly – is excited about returning to Coetzenburg.

"I love racing in Stellenbosch. It is breath of fresh air with its scenic mountains. Being able to race in an open 50m pool with lots of support around is such a treat for me. The Coetzenburg swimming pool is the only pool in SA that has the new Omega starting blocks, which makes a big difference in time."

Participating in this event will give him a good indication of where he stands with regards to his training.

"I'm hoping to do the times that my coach wants me to do at this time in my training programme, building up to Rio."

Cameron has never raced in Stellenbosch before but is looking forward to this opportunity.

"I've heard that last year was a great success and that there was a lot of support from the crowd!" he said.

He regards this event as race training: "I have not done too much race preparation in training so I am happy to be able to get some racing done before qualification trials in April."

Pierre de Roubaix, swimming head coach and sport manager at Stellenbosch University said it was 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 will be taking part. To see this many Olympians and Olympic champions in Stellenbosch is a rare opportunity."

Local swimmers Caitlin Kat, Emma Chelius, Liam Fourie and Anika Kruger, all members of the Maties Swimming team that won the USSA champs last year, will also be in action, while international swimmers from countries including Sweden and Great Britain will also participate.

Tickets can be purchased by contacting Lorinda at [email protected] or on 021 808 4925. Tickets can also be purchased with cash or card in front of the Maties Gymnasium at Coetzenburg daily between 14:00-16:00 from 22-26 February.

Programme and ticket prices:

26 February 2016 – 17:00 heats              R50 per person 27 February 2016 – 10:00 finals               R120 per person 27 February 2016 – 17:00 heats              R50 per person 28 February 2016 – 10:00 finals               R120 per person