Home|Sports|Taylor finishes 36th overall in 100m freeSports
Simba FrenchSend an emailDecember 15, 2022 156 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Team Bahamas wrapped up the second day of competition at the 16th FINA (World Swimming Federation) Short Course (25m) Championships, currently ongoing at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) in Melbourne, Australia.
All four Bahamian swimmers were in action yesterday with two swimmers being featured in individual races.
Lamar Taylor was in action in the men’s 100 meters (m) freestyle. Swimming out of lane four in the fifth heat, Taylor posted a time of 47.76 seconds to win his heat. However, in the grand scheme of things he did not qualify for the semifinals as he finished with the 36th fastest time overall. His winning time was faster than his entry time of 50.25 seconds, and marked a personal best time for him.
Clocking the fastest time in the heats was the Cayman Islands’ Jordan Crooks, who posted a time of 45.61 seconds.
The other swimmer to compete in an individual race was Victoria Russell, who was in the 100m breaststroke event. She swam out of lane five in heat two and won her heat when she touched the wall in 1:11.56. The 22-year-old placed 40th overall with that time. She improved on her entry time of 1:14.97.
The fastest swimmer in the heats was Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte, who posted a time of 1:03.01.
The mixed 4x50m medley relay team consisted of Taylor, Russell, Rhanishka Gibbs and Luke-Kennedy Thompson. The quartet placed 22nd overall with a time of 1:46.93. They swam out of lane seven in the third of four heats.
Taylor swam the first leg and split 24.19 seconds on the backstroke leg. Russell was on the second leg, in the breast, and clocked a split of 32.28 seconds. Thompson was on the third leg and swam a split of 24.50 on the butterfly stroke. Anchoring Team Bahamas with the freestyle was teenager Gibbs who had a split of 25.96 seconds.
The United States of America (USA) had the fastest time in the heats of 1:36.83, and went on to win the gold medal in the final in a new world record of 1:35.15.
Taylor returns to action today in the 50m backstroke event. He heads into the heat with an entry time of 24.38 seconds and will be swimming in the third heat in lane three. Making his debut in an individual race at this meet is Thompson. The 21-year-old distance swimmer will be swimming in the 400m free. He enters the race with a time of 4:04.90, and will be swimming out of lane seven in the first heat.
The head coach of the team is Travano McPhee.
Also making the trip but not for The Bahamas is Tariq Kelly. He is a Bahamian who is serving as a massage therapist/athletic trainer for Team USA. Kelly served as a member of the medical staff for Team Bahamas at the 2022 CARIFTA Swimming Championship in Wildey, Barbados. He is a former competitor for The Bahamas in swimming and water polo.