Schoeman dominated the men’s elite race from start to finish, despite suffering from severe cramping after the 1500m swim. The win at Maselspoort on the outskirts of Bloemfontein was Schoeman’s fourth elite men’s title in South Africa.

The bronze medallist from the 2016 summer games in Rio will be competing Osaka, Yokohama, Leeds and Hamburg before the Olympics.

Schoeman told OFM Sport that apart from the Olympics he is targeting the World Championships as well.

“Those will be my final races before the Olympics.

“I am already qualified, so that's fine, but I need to get world ranking points as well.

“There will be a world series and I hopefully want to claim the world title as well at the end of the year.

“So, the focus is on the Olympics and the World Championships.”

The national women’s elite title was won by England’s Emma Pallant-Browne.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport