Doha World Aquatics Championship…

OLYMPIAN Aleka Persaud finished 8th at World Aquatics Championship being contested in Doha, Qatar.

The country’s national record holder came in eighth, with Dominican Republic Maria Fernandez taking first place in 1 minute 01.03 seconds in Heat 4.

US Virgin Island’s Riley Miller was second in 1 minute 01.08 seconds, with Mia Lee of Guam third in 1 minute 01.22 seconds.

Persaud finished the race in 1 minute and 02.20 seconds, outside the podium spots and a bit off her national record of 1 minute and 67 seconds, which would have put her in a good position.

Aleka’s father Ivan Persaud told the Guyana Chronicle that she is currently tapering for CARFITA and the Paris Olympics, where she is aiming to break the national record in both the 50m and 100m freestyle.

Persaud, who is now based in England, competed in the 50-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, dives into the pool again on Saturday in her pet event.

She holds the women 50-meter freestyle record with a time of 27.42 seconds.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Raekwon Noel beat off competition from Jash Tarere of Papua New Guinea, and Bhutan’s Sangay Tenzin to win his heat.

He, too, was just off his personal best of 51.98 seconds, which is the national record in the 100m freestyle achieved in Trinidad last December.

He will be back in action today in the 100m Freestyle, where he has a PB of 1 minute and 25 seconds.

Both athletes qualified via wild-card spots for the World Aquatics Championship.