Jordan Crooks following his 100 metre freestyle.
Photo: Simone Castrovillari
In a thrilling display at the Paris La Defense Arena, the Caribbean swimmers demonstrated their athleticism in the men's 100m freestyle with outstanding performances, but mixed results.
In heat two, Suriname's Irvin Hoost finished fourth in 52.99s, while St Lucia's Jayhan Odlum-Smith (50.39s) finished second in heat four, but their times were not good enough to advance.
Heat five saw Bahamian Olympic debutant Lamar Taylor clock a new National Record of 48.84s, and he was also the first swimmer to go sub-50 on the night. Barbados' Jack Kirby finished third in 50.42s.
Aruban swimmer Mikel Schreuders followed Taylor’s suit in heat six, as he too stopped the clock in 48.84s, before Dylan Carter (49.35s) of Trinidad and Tobago finished eighth in heat seven.
However, the night belonged to Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands, who performed admirably to finish third in a blistering 48.01s in heat eight.
Crooks advanced to the semi-finals with the fifth fastest time overall, a mere 0.44 seconds behind the fastest qualifier, American Jack Alexy. The other Caribbean competitors ranked: Hoost (68th), Odlum-Smith (44th), Taylor and Schreuders tied for 26th, Kirby (46th), and Carter (34th).
Collymore, Persaud and Crooks failed to progress in women’s 100m freestyle
Grenada's Tilly Collymore, Guyana's Aleka Persaud and Cayman Islands’ Jillian Crooks all performed exceptionally well in the women's 100m freestyle at the Paris La Defense Arena, but like most of their male counterparts, failed to make the final cut to the semi-finals.
In heat one, Collymore finished second in 58.84s, just 0.65 seconds behind the winner. Persaud (1:01.29) placed fourth in the same heat, while Crooks (56.15s) finished seventh in heat two.
By virtue of their times, Crooks was 23rd overall, Collymore (26th), and Persaud (28th). Sweden's experienced campaigner, Sarah Sjöström, was the fastest qualifier in 52.99s.
Still, the Caribbean ladies had much to celebrate as Collymore, 16, is an Olympic debutant, while Persaud, 18, the youngest member of the Guyana team, was gracing the global multi-sport showpiece for a second time. She finished 55th in the 50m freestyle in Tokyo 2020 with a time of 27.76 seconds.
Crooks, 18, was also enjoying her second Olympic Games outing, having made her Olympic Games debut in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. She won three medals at last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games.
US Virgin Islands’ D'Amour eliminated in men’s Archery
Nicholas D'Amour of the US Virgin Islands lost 6-4 to Japanese archer Fumiya Saito in the men's individual round of 32 eliminations at the Invalides on Tuesday.
Despite a valiant attempt, D'Amour was defeated by a single point in the last set.
D'Amour demonstrated tremendous skill, leading set 2 with a score of 27-24. The Japanese and D'Amour tied sets 1 and 4, with Saito winning sets 3 and 5, defeating the USVI representative by one point in the last set, which determined the outcome.
D'Amour, 22, made his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, becoming the first archer to represent the US Virgin Islands. He was eliminated in the first round in a shootout. In 2021, he finished in the top 10 on several occasions, moving him 196 places into the top five in the world rankings. He is also accredited as the 2022 Vegas Shoot silver medallist.
Kerber equals Olympic record as last dance continues in Paris
Angelique Kerber equalled an Olympic record as she reached the quarter-finals in Paris.
Kerber, who is retiring after the Games, overcame Leylah Fernandez to book her place in the last eight at Roland-Garros.
The former world number one prevailed 6-4 6-3 over Fernandez, who reached the US Open final in 2021.
In the process, Kerber joined Arantxa Sanchez Vicario as the woman with the most quarter-finals appearances (three) in the Olympics singles since tennis returned to the Games in 1988.
Kerber took silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Gauff spats with umpire as Olympics singles hopes end in tears
Coco Gauff's Olympic singles campaign ended in tears as the teenager lost in straight sets to Donna Vekic.
Gauff, the world number two, was one of the favourites to claim singles gold in Paris, but will instead have to try her luck in the doubles after crashing out in the third round.
The American lost 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 on Tuesday in a contest in which she clashed with chair umpire Jaume Campistol towards the end of the match.
A Vekic return had been called out by a line judge, with Gauff having not kept the ball in play, but Campistol believed the shot had landed in and handed the Croatian the point and a 4-2 lead.
Play was subsequently delayed as an emotional Gauff approached the umpire, saying: "I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball.
"It's not even a perception; it's the rules. I always have to advocate for myself.
"It always happens here at [Roland-Garros] to me. Every time. This is like the fourth, fifth time it's happened this year."
Gauff felt she was on the harsh end of a decision in the semi-finals of the French Open earlier this year, in a defeat to Iga Swiatek.
Data Debrief: Vekic a worthy winner
Despite Gauff's complaints, she was not at her best, and Vekic deserved the victory.
Vekic struck 28 winners in total to Gauff's nine, as she claimed the first top-10 scalp of her career on clay.
It is the second time in the space of two Olympic Games that Vekic has ousted a top-three player, having defeated Aryna Sabalenka in Tokyo.
Curry: USA have 'appropriate fear' for South Sudan after exhibition win
Stephen Curry has made it clear the United States have "appropriate fear" ahead of their upcoming encounter with South Sudan at the Paris Olympics.
Curry, who helped Team USA to an opening 110-84 win over Serbia, echoed a sentiment pushed by his Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr.
Ahead of the Games, the USA endured a stern test against Wednesday's opponents earlier this month, narrowly avoiding a huge upset with a 101-100 victory in London.
South Sudan are making their first appearance at the Olympics, and got their campaign up and running with a 90-79 triumph over Puerto Rico.
Despite South Sudan not having any current NBA players on their roster, they have plenty of experience within their ranks.
The likes of Wenyen Gabriel, JT Thor and Marial Shayok all shone in their pre-tournament meeting with the USA, with Curry acknowledging a tough task lies ahead.
"We have appropriate fear," said Curry. "We know we can't just sleepwalk through any game and feel like you're going to win."
While the USA are still the clear favourites to win the encounter at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, head coach Kerr said their previous encounter will be to their advantage this time around.
"They came within one shot of beating us," Kerr said.
"I'm really glad that we played them so we can feel their speed and their 3-point shooting ability and feel how good they are."
"We'll be much better prepared [Wednesday]. But doesn't guarantee anything."
During their pre-tournament encounter, South Sudan scored 14 3-pointers against the Americans, making 10 more against Puerto Rico last time out.
"The exhibition schedule was great because you got to figure out where we need to get better and also feel the force of teams that are coming trying to beat us," Curry said.
"They're a very high-octane offense, spread the floor, shoot a lot of 3s and have athleticism. So you just got to be mindful of how to guard them. It's totally different than Serbia."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
