Persaud gracefully bows out of Olympics after electrifying race
At just 18, Aleka Persaud competed in her second Olympic Games on Tuesday
Teenage swimming sensation Aleka Persaud again produced another impressive time in the pool, but was unable to advance to the next stage in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday morning.
Persaud took on heat one of the women’s 100 metres freestyle, where she clocked 1:01.29s for fourth place. The time was not good enough for the Guyanese to move on to the semifinal round, bringing her 2024 Olympic journey to an end. The heat was won by Zimbabwe’s Paige van der Westhuizen in 58.19s.
Grenada’s Tilly Collymore and Maxine Egner of Botswana finished second and third in the Heat, clocking 58.84s and 58.98s, respectively.
The Guyanese swimmer spoke with Sportsmax’s Alex Jordan, reflecting on how the race unfolded.
“It was good, it wasn’t the time I wanted, but I had fun, I enjoyed the race and that’s what it’s about. Can’t be mad with that,” Persaud shared.
Aleka Persaud speaks with Sportsmax following her race
She went on to highlight the boisterous fans and high energy in the swimming arena, “My heart was beating so fast. It’s definitely different from Tokyo, my first Olympics, this is a different experience. The crowd is all in arms to watch this race.”
“I would like to thank my parents, my mom and dad, my coaches, God. I mean, without them, I wouldn’t have been here and all the other support systems in Guyana, I’m really, really grateful,” Persaud later stated in gratitude.
This was Persaud’s second Olympic Games after becoming Guyana’s youngest Olympian, at 15 years old, at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The now 18-year-old is the Guyanese record holder in the 100m freestyle, having clocked a time of 1:00.67, at last year’s Swimming World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Attention now turns to Guyana’s track and field athletes, Emanuel Archibald and Aliyah Abrams, who will be in action later this week in the men’s 100m heats and women’s 400m heats respectively.
