When Olympian Aleka Persaud crossed the line first in the women’s 100m butterfly heat yesterday at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, her winning time of 1:07.24s, also represented a new national record.
Persaud, competing at her first Commonwealth Games, erased her previous record of 1:08.53s, which she had set at the 2019 CARIFTA Games.
Persaud is not known for the 100m butterfly event, but rather the 50m and 100m freestyl events, which she will compete in at the Games in Birmingham.
The 16-year-old also holds the national record in the women’s 50m freestyle (27.65s) and the 100m freestyle record (1:00.69s). Persaud will compete today in the 50m freestyle event. The other two Guyanese on show, Paul Mahaica and Shekel Tzedeq, also had good performances and both swam personal best times.
Tzedeq was third in the men’s 100m backstroke heats, swimming a new personal best of 1:03.37s, bettering his entry time of 1:03.72s.
Mahaica Jr., set a new Personal Best in the Men’s 50m Butterfly to finish 6th in his heats.
He swam a time of 26.88s; his entry time was 27.00s.
