Swimming sensation Aleka Persaud on Friday morning shattered Guyana’s women’s 50m freestyle record in her first outing at the Olympic Games.
The 15-year-old, Guyana’s youngest Olympian, had previously shared that she intended to better her personal best when she hits the pool in Tokyo. However, the teenager did that and more by resetting Guyana’s record to 27.76.
Prior to the end of the race, the teenager could be seen beaming up at the screens, as she took in her record-breaking time.
Swimming at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre on Friday evening (6am local time on the same day), Persaud had a reaction time of 0.60s and finished just 0.20s behind the first-place swimmer, Judith Meauri of Papua New Guinea, who clocked 27.56s.
Although Persaud finished second, she was unable to advance to the semi-final of the event. Meauri, the winner of the heat, also did not advance. For swimming, only the best 16 swimmers (based on time) are able to advance to the semis.
Guyana’s previous 50m freestyle record of 28.10s was also held by the teenager, who reset the record in June of this year, during an Olympic qualifying meet in Nassau, Bahamas. Prior to that performance, the women’s 50m freestyle record was set by Olympian Brittany van Lange back in 2014, at 28.15s.
Persaud is no stranger to Guyanese records as she currently holds Guyana’s 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley at 01.08.52s and 02.42.42s respectively, both of which she copped at the 2019 CARIFTA Swimming Championships at just 13 years old. At that event, the Guyanese copped gold while resetting the 100m butterfly record.
Over on the track, Guyana’s Jasmine Abrams tested her speed against some of the best in the sprint business in Heat 7 of the women’s 100m race. Starting out of lane 9, Abrams was lined up against the likes of Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle- Lee Ahye and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who eventually went on to take first and second place respectively.
Abrams had a valiant run of 11.49s, but unfortunately missed the mark, barring her from moving on to the semi-final of the event, which was scheduled for 6am today.
Abrams is Guyana’s current national 100m champion, following a winning run at the Senior Track and Field Championships back in June. She also copped bronze at the South American Senior Championships in May.
Emanuel Archibald was next up to represent the Land of Many Waters in the Olympic Games, in the 100m sprint event. Archibald is set to compete in Heat 2 at 22:43h(10:43pm) local time on Friday night.
