Tokyo: Srihari Nataraj clocked 54.31s to finish fifth in the men’s 100m backstroke Heat 3 and crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. Earlier in the day, young Maana Patel also endured the same fate in the women’s category.
The 20-year-old Nataraj’s 54.31s is 0.64s slower than his personal best (53.77s) as he finished 27th overall. Nataraj started well covering the first 50m in 26.18s but could not continue with the momentum in the second half of the race. Only top 16 swimmers qualify for the semifinals.
On the other hand, Patel failed to make the semifinals cut despite finishing second in the women’s 100m backstroke Heat 1. Patel clocked 1:05.20s to come in second place behind Katai Donata of Zimbabwe, who progressed with a time of 1:02.73s. Grenada’s Kimberly Ince (1:10.24s) finished third.
Patel, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics via a ‘Universality quota’, finished 39th overall. The top 16 swimmers qualify for the semifinals.
