Persaud shatters 50m freestyle record for 2nd time this year

Teenage swimming sensation Aleka Persaud rewrote Guyana’s 50m freestyle record for the second time this year, during the FINA World Swimming Championships on Monday.

Competing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the 15-year-old clocked 26.86s in the race, to win her 50m freestyle heat and at the same time, shave almost 1s off her previous 50m record.
Back in July, the teenaged Persaud announced herself on the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics with a 27.76s swim in the same event. While Persaud won her heat, she was unable to advance out of that round.
Earlier at the six-day event, Persaud also brought Guyana’s women’s 100m freestyle record under 1 minute for the first time in the country’s history. She clocked a new personal best of 59.70s.
Persaud’s new record brings the curtains down on Guyana’s participation at the games, where Andrew Fowler, Raekwon Noel and Patrice Mahaica also competed.
Mahaica also broke some records of her own in the 50m backstroke, setting the mark at 32.91s. She also claimed the 100m record, with a new time of 1.12.24s.
The males in the four-member team were also outstanding, as they achieved new personal best times in some of their pet races.
For Noel, he brought his PB in the 100m butterfly down to 1.00.23s, while he also lowered his time in the 200m freestyle, to 2.06.28. On the other hand, Olympian Fowler clocked 25.95s for a new personal best in the 50m butterfly event. He also lowered his 50m freestyle time to 24.58s.
The Guyanese team was accompanied to the December 16-21 event by Coach Sean Baksh.