New Zealand swimmers pipped for second medal
New Zealand swimmers pipped for second medal
The New Zealand swim team were pipped from a second medal on day four of the Fina World Youth Championships in Brazil today.
Auckland’s Orinoco Faamausili-Banse-Prince finished fourth in the final of the 50m freestyle, only 3/10ths of a second from the bronze medal at Rio de Janeiro.
The Mt Eden club 16-year-old set a new national age group record of 23.55s in the final, clipping 3/10ths from the 2003 mark held by New Zealand representative Ben Pickersgill-Brown.
Yesterday’s gold medal winner, Natalie Wiegersma finished seventh in the final of the 200m individual medley. The Southland 16-year-old clocked 2:19.96, slightly slower than the time she set in yesterday’s heats.
Banse’s Mt Eden clubmate Kurt Bassett narrowly missed out on a spot in the final when he finished 10th fastest in the semifinals of the 50m backstroke. He clocked 27.36, right on his personal best, in a strong performance.
The squad is back in the pool later today for the heats, held in the evening at this meet with finals in the morning.
The meet finishes on Monday (NZ time).
Day 4 results:
Finals:
50m freestyle: Orinoco Faamausili-Banse-Prince 23.55, 4th (NZ Age record)
200m individual medley: Natalie Wiegersma 2:19.96, 7th.
Semifinal, 50m backstroke: Kurt Bassett 26.36, 10th.
