Guyana’s Andrew Fowler gave it all he had in the pool on Tuesday morning with a 55.23s swim, finishing fourth in the first heat of the men’s 100m freestyle race.
The Guyana Police Force member, clocked 26.12s in his first 50m before the turn, after which he clocked another 29.11s to finish at 55.23s. Fowler’s heat was won by Nepal’s Alexander Shah in 53.41s, but no one from that heat advanced to tomorrow’s semi-final race.
Out of the 70 swimmers participating in the nine heats, only 16 have moved on to the semis.
“First, I would like to thank Jesus for being the main reason for this successful moment, wasn’t anything close to my best, but I’m still grateful,” the swimmer wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, following his race.
He continued, “Starting my journey at 18+ with the grace of God and determination, I was able to accomplish this dream just in six years.”
Next up for Guyana in the Olympics is Jasmine Abrams, who will be suiting up for the women’s 100m sprint. The heats for that event are scheduled for Thursday, July 29 at 20:00h (8:00pm) local time.