Seaton betters time in final event of South American Swimming Championships

Following a dismal start on Tuesday in the CONSANAT South American Swimming Championships, Leon Seaton attained some sort of redemption on Friday in his final outing in the pool.
Competing in Buenos Aires Argentina, the teenager and Olympic hopeful improved his timing in the 50m freestyle to signal a great close to the competition for himself.
Conversely, his Guyanese teammate Andrew Fowler was not quite as fortunate.

Their final event came on Friday when the pair ventured into the pool for the Men’s 50m Freestyle which was won in a time of 22.38s by Venezuelan Vivas Mestre. He finished ahead of Brazilians Martins Peixoto (22.68s) and Guimarae Alcara (22.70s).
Guyana’s Leon Seaton clocked 24.84s to finish 21st but improved by -0.49s on his speed of 25.33s.
His country mate Andrew Fowler wrapped up his performance with a time of 25.70s in that event, to place 24th overall.
The Olympic selection time for the Men’s 50m Freestyle is 22.67s while the Olympic Qualification time is set at 22.01s.
On the penultimate day of the competition, Seaton and Fowler competed in Men’s 50m Butterfly which was won by Argentine Roberto Strelkov in a time of 24.39s, while Brazilians Melo Baganha (25.54s) and Dias Perseguin (24.55s) were second and third. Fowler and Seaton clocked 27.48s and 28.62s in that event to end in 20th and 21st positions.
It is important to note that the 50m butterfly is not an Olympic event. However, the event’s world record is overseen and ratified by FINA, the world governing body for the sport of competitive swimming. The 50 fly WR is one of the youngest on the books, as it is among the stroke 50s which have only been tracked since the 1990s.
Meanwhile, on the opening day of the event, the Guyanese pair tested their mettle against the South American contingent in the Men’s 100m Freestyle. Seaton turned in a time of 56.05s while Fowler stopped the clock at 56.33s.
Prior to the race, Seaton entered with a time of 55.27s while Fowler’s speed was 54.10s. However, neither time was sufficient to compare with the Olympic Standard of 48.57s.
With the deadline for the Tokyo Olympic – July 23 to August 8 – set at May 30, it is presumed that the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) will look to other avenues to provide their hopefuls: Leon Seaton, Andrew Fowler and Jamila Sanmoogan, with opportunities to qualify for this year’s games.