By Travis Seymour
At the World Aquatics Championship in Doha, Qatar, Guyana’s top female swimmer Aleka Persaud faced another challenging day in the pool, failing to secure a podium finish.
In the 50-meter freestyle heat 6, Persaud, ranked number 2, finished with a time of 28.60 seconds.
However, she fell short as Bolivia’s Adriana Giles clinched victory in 26.60 seconds, followed by Aunjelique Liddie of Antigua in second place with 27.38 seconds, and Alejandra Santana of the Dominican Republic in third with 27.60 seconds.
Despite her personal best and national record of 27.42 seconds, Persaud finished in 8th position, marking her second event of the championship.
Earlier, Persaud secured an 8th place finish in her 100-meter freestyle event on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Raekwon Noel managed to secure podium finishes in his 100 butterfly and 100 meters freestyle events, but unfortunately, they were not sufficient for him to advance.
Noel finished second in the 100 meters butterfly with a time of 56.24 seconds and clinched victory in the 100-meter freestyle event on Wednesday with a time of 52.59 seconds.
Both Persaud and Noel were aiming to accumulate enough points to qualify for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.