Tokyo Olympics: Guyanese Aleka Persaud to swim on Friday

Aleka Persaud, the youngest Guyanese to attend an Olympic Games, will hit the pool on Friday morning (06:30h Guyana time) in the Women’s 50m Freestyle at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre.

The 15-year-old gained a Universality spot to the ongoing Tokyo Olympic Games with an entry time of 28.10 seconds.

Persaud will compete in Heat Four. Only the 16 fastest swimmers from 11 Heats will advance to the semi-finals.

Guyana’s other representative in swimming, Andrew Fowler, on Tuesday finished fourth in Heat One of the Men’s 100m Freestyle in a time of 55.23 seconds, and did not make the semi-finals.

Fowler, who had the best entry time of 54.10s in the Heat, was among the early leaders in the race, but faded in the last 25 meters.

The 25-year-old, who also gained a Universality spot, had a reaction time of 0.64s and swam his first 50 meters in 26.12s.