There is still work to be done on the part of the Guyanese swimming pair of Andrew Fowler and Leon Seaton, as they hope to make the mark for this year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics.
The pair, this week, tested their skills at the Confederación Sudamericana de Natación (CONSANAT) South American Swimming and Diving Championships, which they are hoping to use as preparation for (and possibly a qualifying opportunity) for the July- August Games.
Leon Seaton
Their campaign which commenced on Tuesday, was not as impressive as they’d hope but Fowler and Seaton are yet to compete in another event today, before wrapping up their stint at the Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Their third and final event will be the Men’s 50m Butterfly, after they participated in the 50m and 100m Freestyle earlier in the week.
The locals first competed in the Men’s 100m freestyle but failed to improve on their timing as they seek to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Seaton turned in a time of 56.05s while Fowler stopped the clock at 56.33s. Prior to the race, Seaton entered with a seed of 55.27s while Fowler’s best time was 54.10s. However, none of those times were sufficient enough to hit the Olympic Standard for the event which is set at 48.57s.
Andrew Fowler
In that race, Venezuelan’s Quintero Valero won in a time of 49.57s ahead of Brazil’s Peixoto Martins (49.70s) and Valero’s teammate, Mestre Vivas, who was third with a time of 49.82s. The race which had 25 competitors saw Seaton and Fowler finish in 23rd and 24th, respectively.
Their second event was the 50m Freestyle which was won by Argentine Rober Strelkov in a time of 24.39s while Brazilians Melo Baganha (25.54s) and Dias Perseguin (24.55s) were second and third.
In that event, Fowler stopped the clock at 27.48s while Seaton swam a time of 28.62s, both failing to beat their seeds of 26.45s and 28.41s; another performance that place them in the cellar position. The qualifying standard for the 50m Freestyle is a staggering 22.01s.
Meanwhile, the qualifying standard for the 50m Butterfly in 51.96s. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has set the deadline for qualification to the games at May 30, 2021.
It is believed that the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) will look into having the pair, along with Jamila Sanmoogan, embark on other qualifying stints with a goal of reaching the July 23 to August 8 Olympic Games.
