Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
Persaud breaks Nat’l record but campaign ends Abrams finishes 7th in 100m heat
Guyana’s youngest ever Olympian, Aleka Persaud had a dream debut at the Tokyo Olympics yesterday morning with a second place finish in her heat of the women’s 50m freestyle.
Aleka Persaud’s reaction to her time after finishing second in her heat.
Although she didn’t qualify for the next round, it was a major accomplishment for the 15-year-old swimmer as she reset the national record from 28.10s to 27.76s. Persaud, who is sure to continue improving, became the first local athlete to swim a time under 28 seconds.
Judith Meauri of Papua New Guinea won the Heat with a time of 27.56s, but she also did not secure a spot in the semi-finals since it was the athletes with the 16 fastest times that made the cut for the next round.
Persaud’s coach Sean Baksh was quoted expressing great pleasure with her performance which is much greater when the fact that she was out of the pool for the most of last year is weighed in.
Jasmine Abrams
Earlier yesterday, United States based Guyanese sprinter Jasmine Abrams finished seventh in her Heat on women’s 100m and missed out on making the Tokyo Olympic Games semi-final.
Competing at the Olympic Track Stadium, Abrams clocked 11.49s in Heat Seven of Round One.
Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago won the race in 11.06s, followed by medal contender Shericka Jackson of Jamaica with 11.07s and Jenna Prandini of the USA with 11.11s.
The top three in each of the seven Heats and the next three fastest have advanced to the semi-finals.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Chilling reminders that we are not safe
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Georgetown was plunged into shock and terror last week after two heinous incidents laid... more
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The year 2024 has underscored a grim reality: poverty continues to be an unyielding... more
Weekend Cartoon
