Forbes just short of making semis; action continues today
Simba FrenchSend an emailSeptember 2, 2022 239 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Yet another Bahamian junior swimmer was able to advance to the semifinals at the 8th FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Junior Championships, currently ongoing at the VIDENA Aquatics Center in Lima, Peru. This time it was Marvin Johnson who placed 13th overall in the boys 50 meters (m) freestyle with a time of 23.39 seconds last night.
Rhanishka Gibbs was the first to qualify for a semifinal at this edition of the championships, placing 14th overall in the girls 50m breast on Tuesday.
Johnson finished sixth in the second semifinal, swimming out of lane eight, and was unable to make the final. Winning his heat was Portugal’s Diogo Matos with a time of 22.45 seconds. Swimming away with the fastest time heading into the final was Croatia’s Jere Hribar who clocked 22.35 seconds.
During the heats in the morning session, Johnson powered his way to a qualifying time of 23.38 seconds, swimming out of lane six in the 10th heat. He placed fifth in that heat, and his time placed him at number 15 heading into the semis.
Johnson’s teammate with the YMCA WaveRunners in Grand Bahama, Nigel Forbes, swam before him in heat number six. Swimming out of lane six, Forbes won his heat with a personal best time of 23.64 seconds to finish 18th overall. He was a reserve for last night’s semifinals. His previous personal best of 24.79 seconds was done in the same pool at the UANA (Swimming Union of the Americas) Swimming Cup in 2020.
It was a great feat for both swimmers as 82 athletes took part in that event.
Keianna Moss powered her way to another personal best, clocking 29.28 seconds in the girls 50m butterfly. She finished 23rd overall after placing eighth in heat number six that had six qualifiers. Her previous personal best was 29.53 seconds which she swam at CARIFTA in April in Wildey, Barbados. Croatia’s Jana Pavalic went into the semifinals with the fastest time of 26.86 seconds.
Gibbs placed 24th overall in the girls 100m breaststroke when she touched the wall in 1:17.87. She posted splits of 36.12 and 41.75 seconds. The 16-year-old placed sixth in heat seven. Poland’s Karolina Piechowicz swam the fastest time of 1:09.74 heading into the semis.
The four swimmers finished the morning session swimming in the mixed 4x100m free relay. The quartet finished 19th out of 28 teams after posting a time of 3:55.37. They were sixth in heat two. Forbes started the race off, turning in a split of 54.95 seconds. Johnson then continued the race and his split showed 55.39 seconds. Moss and Gibbs finished the race on the third and fourth legs respectively. Moss’ split was 1:02.08 seconds while Gibbs posted a split of 1:02.95 seconds.
The Bahamas will experience action in the pool today. Moss will swim in the girls 50m backstroke. Johnson and Forbes will swim in the boys 50m fly. Emmanuel Gadson and Erald Thompson III will compete in the boys 200m breast. Gibbs will have the day off.