Seaton improves on final day

Guyana’s two-man team that attended the CONSANAT South American Swimming and Diving Championships concluded their participation on Friday when the event culminated in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On the final day, the pair competed in the Men’s 50m Freestyle which was won in a time of 22.38s by Venezuelan Vivas Mestre. He finished ahead of Brazilians Martins Peixoto (22.68s) and Guimarae Alcara (22.70s).

Guyana’s Leon Seaton clocked 24.84s to finish 21st but improved by -0.49s on his seed of 25.33s. His country mate, Andrew Fowler, wrapped up his performance with a time of 25.70s in that event, to place 24th overall.

The Olympic selection time for the Men’s 50m Freestyle is 22.67s while the Olympic Qualification time is set at 22.01s.

On the penultimate day of the competition, Seaton and Fowler competed in the Men’s 50m Butterfly, which was won by Argentine Rober Strelkov in a time of 24.39s while Brazilians Melo Baganha (25.54s) and Dias Perseguin (24.55s) were second and third.

Fowler and Seaton clocked 27.48s and 28.62s in that event to end in 20th and 21st positions.

It is important to note that the 50m Butterfly is not an Olympic event.

However, the event’s world record is overseen and ratified by FINA, the world governing body for the sport of competitive swimming. The 50 fly WR is one of the youngest on the books, as it is among the stroke 50’s which have only been tracked since the 1990’s.

Meanwhile, on the opening day of the event, the Guyanese pair tested their mettle against the South American contingent in the Men’s 100m Freestyle.

Seaton turned in a time of 56.05s, while Fowler stopped the clock at 56.33s.

Prior to the race, Seaton entered with a time of 55.27s while Fowler’s seed was 54.10s. However, none of those times were sufficient enough to hit the Olympic Standard which is 48.57s.

These two local swimmers, along with Jamila Sanmogan, are the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association’s (GASA) Olympic hopefuls that are currently seeking qualification to the games before the May 30 deadline.