Carter wins heat but misses semis

NATIONAL swimmer Dylan Carter impressed on his Olympic debut yesterday, winning his men’s 100-metre freestyle heat in a new national record but missing out on a spot in the semifinals at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil, yesterday.

Carter punched the water in satisfaction after finishing heat four in 48.80 seconds breaking George Bovell’s national record of 48.82. Carter narrowly defeated the Hungarian pair of Richard Bohus (48.86) and Dominik Kozma (48.92). Carter was out the blocks quickly and was always in contention for victory in lane two. A strong push to the wall after the first 50m saw Carter battling for a top three spot, and a powerful finish saw the 20-year-old touch first. 

At the time of his win, Carter would not have known if his time was good enough for a semifinal spot. 

Unfortunately many of the top swimmers competed in the later heats and Carter ended with the 23rd fastest time, missing out on a top 16 spot which would have ensured a semifinal berth. 

The times were extremely close as less than a second separated the fastest qualifier Kyle Chalmers of Australia and Carter. Chalmers clocked 47.90. 

After the race, an elated Carter revealed, “I have been training with George (Bovell) since I got here. I have been knocking on that barrier for so long so it’s about time.” In rowing, national athlete Aisha Chow is no longer in contention for a medal after she finished fifth in quarterfinal two of the women’s single sculls event at the Lagoa Stadium. 

However, Chow will still be in action today as she faces the starter in semifinal C/D two at 10.40 am TT time as she battles for overall placings. 

Despite not vying for a medal, Chow stated, “If I can make it into the C final that would be amazing.” Chow said rowing can develop in TT but advised that a rowing programme must start off simple and build into something huge. “You have to start simple, start small and local and try not to get too big too fast. It has taken me a while, I started off with local races and built up slowly.” Chow encouraged aspiring rowers to have fun and then get into competitive rowing eventually. 

Chow, who is the first rower to represent TT at the Olympics, has grabbed the attention of the TT public as she has competed valiantly. 

Sailor Andrew Lewis, who is representing TT in his second Olympics, continued to have a tough time in the men’s laser event. 

Lewis is now 42nd overall after four races in the event. He earned 39 points after finishing race three in 39th position, and then got 37 points after ending race four in 37th position out of the 46 competitors. 

Lewis still has to compete in six races between today and Saturday for a chance to advance to the medal round. 

Today he will line up in race five from 12.05 pm (TT time) and then race six from 1.30 pm (TT time).